Rekha right behind, so Jaya to swap seat?

New Delhi, May 2 (IANS) Actress-MP Jaya Bachchan has sought to change her seating arrangement in the Rajya Sabha after her one-time co-star Rekha was allotted a seat right behind her, an official source said Wednesday.

Bachchan, a Samajwadi Party MP, occupies seat number 91 and the seat allotted to Rekha is 99 - right behind her. Rekha has been newly nominated to the upper house.

Bachchan requested for a seat change apparently to avoid proximity to the actress, the source said.

However, since the procedure to change one's seat takes long, Bachchan may swap her seat with another member from her party, said the source.

Officially, however, Bachchan said she wanted to change her seat because of the demise of party colleague Brij Bhushan Tiwari, as he was sitting next to her.

Tiwari died last week shortly after being re-elected to the upper house.

Meanwhile, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has been allotted seat number 103.

Both Rekha and Tendulkar along with industrialist and social worker Anu Aga have been nominated to the upper house by the president.

Earlier, Tendulkar's nomination to the upper house came under much discussion after some political parties questioned if it was an attention diverting tactic.