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Will Meira Kumar join BJP?

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Chances of senior Congress leader Meira Kumar, who resigned from the party's primary membership, returning to the fold are remote, sources close to her told rediff.com.

Congress leaders admitted in private that the exit of Kumar, Congress Working Committee member and a former general secretary, is a big jolt. They hoped she would reconsider her decision.

But friends of Kumar said the possibility was "very remote."

Kumar, incidentally, postponed the press conference she had scheduled Thursday to Friday. No reason given.

Kumar is the daughter of former deputy prime minister Babu Jagjivan Ram. The reason cited for her resignation is that she is upset with the Congress high command because it denied tickets to her supporters for the forthcoming assembly election in Bihar.

"She was not very happy with the way the high command had been treating her in last few months," a colleague said.

Kumar's detractors however strongly contest this argument. "After the 1999 Lok Sabha election, she had been keeping a low profile. Despite her losing the election to Bharatiya Janata Party's Anita Arya, Congress president Sonia Gandhi nominated her to the Congress Working Committee. If that is sidelining her, then what is giving her good treatment?" they asked.

There has been considerable speculation about Kumar's future course of action after she was seen in Home Minister L K Advani's company recently.

"There is very little doubt on this score. I think she has already struck a deal with the BJP. She would be made member of Rajya Sabha after the Bihar assembly election. In turn she would campaign for the BJP and help them get the votes of scheduled caste," claimed a senior Congress leader.

This camp points out that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government went out of its way to declare 6 Krishna Menon Marg, where Kumar's bungalow is located, as Jagjivan Ram Memorial. Which in financial terms means that she would not have to pay anything to the government for her long stay there.

Another group of Congressmen believe that Kumar may join hands with the Samata party, which has stakes in her home state of Bihar.

Asked if Kumar was planning to join the BJP, senior party leader J P Mathur said that it was too early to say anything.

Wouldn't the party gain by her entry as she would be able to swing considerable scheduled caste votes in the assembly election?

"Let her first join the party. The rest can be decided later," he said.

Kumar, for her part, was in no mood to oblige the media. She would reveal her cards Friday when she meets pressmen over a cup of tea at 6 Krishna Menon Marg.

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