New Delhi, Sept. 8 :    New Delhi, Sept. 8:  Before the dust has settled on his new-found fondness for the RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), George Fernandes has left for Chitrakoot to meet veteran Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh, leaving friends of the Prime Minister's troubleshooter uneasy about his intentions. Nanaji, as he is popularly called, is a quintessential Sangh supporter and was the general secretary of the erstwhile Jan Sangh. Barring his occasional appearance in the Rajya Sabha, Nanaji, one of the Sangh leaders known to be not well disposed towards Vajpayee, is confined to his ashram in Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh. Fernandes' fellow socialists are baffled: Why is he trying to endear himself to the RSS and share its platform when he should be seen to be on the side of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee? The SJM, which has been criticising the economic policies of the government, is considered a 'red rag' for the Prime Minister and several eyebrows were raised when Fernandes this week shared its platform where the government's economic policies were criticised. Even human resources development minister Murli Manohar Joshi, an ardent Swadeshi proponent, has shunned the SJM to be in the good books of the Prime Minister. A senior NDA leader, belonging to the old socialist school, said: 'We are at a loss to understand as to why should Fernandes stick his neck out?' But leaders who are close to Fernandes said there is no mystery. Out in the cold after the Tehelka revelations and with his colleague railway minister Nitish Kumar gaining control over the party, Fernandes is looking beyond Vajpayee and the NDA to win the next elections. He can no longer bank on the Kurmi votes in Bihar. There is a lurking suspicion of sabotage from within as the equations in the party are fast changing. The Nitish camp was irked with Fernandes for giving a long rope to Jaya Jaitly, who, according to most of the Samata MPs, brought about the party's downfall. The old socialist war-horse has scented trouble and is searching for a safe constituency. Whether in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh or Karnataka - three places he may like to contest - the RSS cadre could bail him out. Fernandes, sources said, had also tilted towards Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. He had a few meetings with Yadav in the recent past, fuelling speculation that he may think of contesting from Uttar Pradesh. With or without the Samata, Fernandes may do a Chandra Shekhar, winning elections despite the absence of a party apparatus. Chandra Shekhar manages to win his seat each time as mainstream political parties tacitly help him.