RLD chief Ajit Singh sworn-in as Cabinet Minister

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh was sworn in Sunday as a Cabinet Minister in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh' s government and given the Civil Aviation portfolio in a bid by the Congress party to shore up its prospects in the assembly elections in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where the two parties have forged a tie-up. The swearing-in of the 72-year-old leader from the western region of Uttar Pradesh took place a week after his party formally joined the ruling United Progressive Alliance, the first political outfit to do so since the alliance came to power for the second time in May 2009. The Civil Aviation portfolio was so far being held as an additional charge by Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi. Ajit Singh told reporters his alliance with Congress has now provided a "clear-cut alternative" to the people of Uttar Pradesh against the "oppressive" Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party government in the state. He also said the "wave" generated in Uttar Pradesh due to the Congress-RLD alliance will be felt across the country. The expansion of the Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is the third such exercise since the UPA-II came to power in 2009. Singh is the 33rd minister in the Union Cabinet and 77th in the Council of Ministers. Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Congress President and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and a number of Union Ministers and party leaders were present when President Pratibha Patil administered the oath of office to Ajit Singh at a brief ceremony in the Ashoka Hall of the President's House. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who played a key role in bringing RLD into the UPA ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections scheduled in the next few months, was seen sitting along with Jayant Chaudhary, son of Ajit Singh and an MP. With RLD joining the ruling coalition, UPA's strength in Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, has gone up from 272 to 277. This is the fourth time Ajit Singh has become a Union Minister. Earlier he was a minister in the governments of V P Singh in 1989, P V Narasimha Rao during 1995-96 and A B Vajpayee during 2001-03. PTI Caption for pic: Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Ajit Singh poses in his office after taking charge of the Civil Aviation Ministry, in New Delhi on Monday. Singh was inducted into the Indian cabinet after his party had joined the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) a week ago. PTI Photo