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Kalyan Singh likely to form regional party in UP

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh is floating a new regional party whose main plank will be the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, top government sources confirmed today.

They told rediff.com that the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to expel the rebel politician and the order is only awaiting president Shashikant 'Kushabhau' Thakre's signature. Thakre is not in Delhi at the moment.

The party's disciplinary action committee chaired by vice-president Jagdish Prasad Mathur met at 1430 IST today and its conclusion will be forwarded to Thakre on his return, spokesman M Venkaiah Naidu indicated.

"Kalyan Singh is parting ways with the BJP on an acrimonious note in keeping with his personal animosity against Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee," a joint secretary in the home ministry said. "He has completed the formalities for his new regional outfit whose raison d'etre is the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya," the senior government official said. The state administration of Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta has sent a detailed report about this to the Union home ministry, he added.

Other home ministry officials, however, said that despite Kalyan Singh's impending announcement about a new party, he had established contact with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and the two had an hour-long meeting in Lucknow yesterday on political strategy.

They also pointed out that senior BJP politician Sushma Swaraj, who recently lost the Lok Sabha election in Bellary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, "has a bright prospect" of being given a major assignment. "It could be a gubernatorial assignment or something in keeping with her seniority and stature," they said, but refused to say whether she would replace Uttar Pradesh Governor Suraj Bhan.

Some BJP members of Parliament from Uttar Pradesh, who did not want to be named, said the central party leadership is atttaching "great importance" to the state now that Kalyan Singh is an "outcast and poised to launch his new regional party". Given the political challenge from the rebel and his 'backward politics' cohorts, the BJP needs astute leadership in the chief minister's slot as well as Raj Bhawan, they asserted. They, however, pointed out that Gupta had the full backing of the central leadership with which he has been in constant touch over political developments in the state.

The party MPs maintained that Gupta had been given additional teeth by the central leadership to meet the situation after the rebel leader launches his new party. Gupta has been told that since Kalyan Singh's penchant for raising the thorny Ayodhya issue is bound to escalate, it must be dealt with "with an iron hand".

The state administration is gearing up to tackle those legislators who have indicated that they may throw in their lot with the dethroned chief minister. While former BJP leader Satchidanand Sakshi Maharaj has joined the Samajwadi Party, those like Birsein Saroha, Aligarh district chief and Kalyan Singh acolyte, are being carefully watched. "Saroha's nuisance value is not being discounted," a BJP vice-president contended.

Knowing his proximity to Kalyan Singh, the central leadership has sought to clip Saroha's wings by dissolving the Aligarh district unit. It was done by state party chief Rajnath Singh on the plea that the unit was " inactive". But Saroha told followers that the "BJP led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee only believes in vindictiveness for which it shall pay dearly".

Saroha also hinted at the formation of a new regional outfit, which, he claimed, would "wipe out the BJP in Uttar Pradesh".

Political observers in Delhi are baffled by Kalyan Singh's constant refrain on the Ram Mandir issue when even the RSS leadership has disapproved of it. RSS chief Rajendra Singh alias Rajju bhaiyya took Kalyan Singh to task for his criticism of the prime minister and underscored that in any organisation no individual was above discipline.

Besides, Loktantrik Congress Party chief Naresh Aggarwal, an ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, has warned Chief Minister Gupta that any move to construct the temple in Ayodhya would constrain his party to pull down the state government. This has given the chief minister sufficient reason to crack down on any individual or organisation trying to disturb the status quo in the town.

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