RLD chief Ajit Singh, an ally of the BJP and whose MP son Jayant Chaudhary recently sprang a surprise and campaigned for SP candidate Dimple Yadav in Firozabad, will meet CPM general secretary Prakash Karat and CPI’s D Raja on Saturday in a bid to corner the ruling Congress over sugar pricing during the upcoming winter session of Parliament.

Singh, who has been spearheading an agitation by sugarcane farmers in the Jat-dominated western Uttar Pradesh, will also seek support from UPA ally Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee over “farmer’s cause”, a move aimed at irking the Congress. Singh will also hold a meeting with SP general secretary Amar Singh.

The move is being seen as part of a larger effort for political re-grouping by allies of the Congress to form a pressure group with backing from principal opposition BJP. Mulayam Singh Yadav-led SP, facing challenge from a resurgent Congress in UP, is taking the lead in this effort with backing from the Bihar duo — RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan. The Left, faced with a sharp decline in its political fortunes, is also said to be backing the move. The regional outfits have taken the lead with the BJP in disarray battling internal bickering.

“My effort is to unite the Opposition over sugar pricing. The Centre is trying to crush the farmers. I am hopeful the Left will support the cause. We will not allow the FRP (Fair and Remunerative Price) ordinance to be passed by Parliament,” Singh told The Indian Express.