NEW DELHI, May 3: Did Indian movie actress Jaya Bachchan who doubles as an elected member of the Rajya Sabha ask for a new seat number that will move her away from Rekha, a former screen rival and newly nominated MP, once romantically linked with Ms Bachchan’s husband and cine star Amitabh Bachchan? The Telegraph of Kolkata reported on Thursday that the new arrangement will ensure the two women do not appear together in live telecasts of the house proceedings.

Rumours were rife about the seating arrangement for the two women MPs after the Manmohan Singh government nominated Ms Rekha (one name) to the Rajya Sabha together with cricket star Sachin Tendulkar. Ms Rekha’s rumoured affair with Mr Bachchan saw them working together in several successful movies with romantic storylines.

As the reel-life chemistry fired the imagination of cinegoers and resulted in the 1970s movie “Silsila” (The Affair), the Amitabh-Rekha relationship acquired iconic status. Jaya Bachchan played the unhappy but eventually successful wife of her real-life husband Mr Bachchan in the movie while Rekha was loved by fans as the proverbial other woman.

According to The Telegraph the Rajya Sabha secretariat has accepted a plea from Ms Jaya Bachchan, a Samajwadi Party MP, to change her seat from 91 to 143.

Ms Rekha, who has been recommended for nomination to the Rajya Sabha, is expected to be allotted seat 99, “which means the Silsila co-stars will be far apart from each other and are unlikely to be seen in the same frame when proceedings are telecast,” The Telegraph said.

Sources close to Ms Bachchan claimed the change was prompted by the death of an MP who had occupied the seat next to her. Had the original arrangement been followed, Ms Rekha would have sat almost behind her cine rival.

According to the Rajya Sabha website, “ordinarily, once seats are allotted to members, no changes are made during the currency of the session, unless they are absolutely essential and even if few changes are made, care is taken that these changes do not upset the general seating arrangement till the duration of the session”.

Seat 143, Jaya’s new perch, was occupied by another Samajwadi member.

Sachin Tendulkar, who has also been recommended for a nominated membership, will be allotted seat 103. It is, however, not known when Rekha and Tendulkar will take the oath of office. The process could be completed next week.