Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh is inducted into the Union Cabinet this week. Singh's appointment as the new civil aviation minister took  place after President Pratibha Patil returned to the Capital on Tuesday evening. Days after Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh joined the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), he was on Sunday sworn-in as union minister. He was administered the oath of office by President Pratibha Patil.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and many ministers were in attendance at the ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

The RLD has five MPs in the Lok Sabha, including Singh and his son Jayant Chaudhary. Singh, who joined the UPA Dec 12, is likely to be made civil aviation minister.

With RLD joining the ruling coalition, UPA's strength in the Lok Sabha has gone up from 272 to 277. Ajit Singh, became the 33rd minister in the Union Cabinet and 77th in the council of ministers. The expansion of the Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is the third such exercise since the UPA-II came to power.

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 Mr. Ajit Singh at a brief ceremony in the Ashoka Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

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 present on the occasion.

He was seen sitting along with Jayant Chaudhary, son of Mr. Ajit Singh, who is also an MP and represents Mathura.

The Congress-RLD alliance was sealed after Singh called on Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday. Congress is likely to part with 42-45 seats for RLD in Jat-dominated western Uttar Pradesh. Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh, who was part of the seat-sharing talks with Ajit Singh, told reporters on Monday that the RLD chief had already submitted a formal letter of support of his four MPs to Sonia.

"Sonia Gandhi has agreed to include RLD in the UPA," Singh told mediapersons. Congress has described the alliance with RLD as a 'game-changer' in UP. The grand old party hopes to benefit from the Jat consolidation in its favour in western UP.

With disgruntled Samajwadi Party leader Rashid Masood also joining Congress on Monday, the party hopes to ride on a Jat-Muslim combination to attract voters of the region. Masood was unhappy at being sidelined in the Samajwadi Party and blamed Azam Khan for his plight