Prior to UP polls, Ajit Singh lands civil aviation berth

Ajit Singh is set to become a Cabinet minister — for a fourth time, and now at 72. The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief from Western Uttar Pradesh will get the civil aviation portfolio later this week when he will be sworn in.

The decision comes in the wake of Singh’s RLD on Monday turning an ally of the Congress in the upcoming crucial assembly elections of his politically-crucial state.

The RLD was, earlier in the day, formally inducted as an ally of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance at the Centre. Soon, Singh met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Meerut-born Jat leader, an engineer-turned-politician, has previously been a minister for industry, food and agriculture — albeit all under different governments: National Front, Congress and the BJP.

Singh’s taking charge of the civil aviation portfolio comes at a time when the ministry is facing crucial challenges: reviving national carrier Air India, deciding on the contentious issue of allowing foreign airlines to invest in the country and widening of losses of airlines across the board. Besides resolving these, he faces the challenge of finding a consensus at the central and state level on a low tax regime for aviation sector.

For Singh, who has a considerable sway over the Jat vote in western UP, being the son of the late Chaudhary Charan Singh, the tie-up with the Congress took a long time in the making. For one, the MP from Bhagpat stood firm in his demand for a cabinet berth, preferably the agriculture portfolio, in lieu of his support to the Congress. But with NCP’s Sharad Pawar well placed there, Singh will take over as minister of civil aviation — a portfolio that was an additional charge for overseas Indian affairs minister Vayalar Ravi.

Singh’s joining the UPA on Monday not only translates into the ruling UPA’s strength going up from 272 MPs to 277; it will also lead to consolidation of the party’s prospects in its stronghold of Western UP. Coinciding with Singh allying with the Congress, Rashid Masood, a prominent Muslim face in western UP, has also joined the Congress ranks.

The other challenges confronting the minister-designate include rising fuel costs, coupled with high taxes that have led to the widening of losses of almost all airlines. Collectively, the airlines have petitioned the government to review the ground-handling policy and provide a level playing field for the airlines that are keen to expand on international routes.

As for the contentious issue of allowing foreign airlines to invest in India, the DIPP has mooted a 26 per cent cap on foreign airlines stake, while the civil aviation ministry is still to take a concrete stance. For, the aviation sector is divided on the issue of FDI. While Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher is batting for allowing foreign airlines to pick up stake, his peers Rahul Bhatia of IndiGo and Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways are not enthusiastic of having Indian carriers run by foreign airlines.