ELECTION 99
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Kalyan does a flip, promises 'full support' to Gupta

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Eating humble pie, outgoing Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh today did a volte-face, dropped all pretension of a rebellion, and promised full support to his successor Ram Prakash Gupta, whose name he proposed today for leadership of the state legislature party.

"Kalyan Singh has eaten crow. He realised that defying the party's central leadership could finish him in the organisation. He is singing a new tune and is ready to co-operate with Gupta who will be Uttar Pradesh's new chief minister tomorrow," said a BJP vice-president who had been a trenchant critic of Singh's pressure tactics.

But Singh's volte-face and his resolve to back the central leadership's choice have spurred some senior party politicians to his defence. "All's well that ends well," said Jagdish Prasad Mathur, who was one of many in the high command to heave a sigh of relief as the growing crisis in the state appeared to have come to an end.

But that the central leadership is not taking any chances is clear from the fact that party president Shashikant 'Kushabhau' Thakre and Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani will, along with party general secretary K N Govindacharya, attend Gupta's swearing-in in Lucknow tomorrow.

Sources in the BJP's Ashoka Road headquarters told rediff.com that following a "stern warning from the highest quarters of the central party leadership yesterday, Kalyan Singh rang up Thakre to say that he would himself propose Gupta's name as state legislature party leader". He gave the same message to Advani, making it apparent that he would fall in line.

But despite today's developments, the BJP's leadership has taken a dim view of Singh's earlier confrontationist stance. His last-minute climb-down is unlikely to salvage the situation for him entirely.

"His open defiance of Vajpayeeji has left a bad taste. The central leadership has sat up and taken notice and senior leaders are unanimous that such conduct is tantamount to gross indiscipline and should not be condoned," well-placed party sources pointed out. "Now every little move of Kalyan Singh will be watched under the microscope and he has only himself to blame," they added.

BJP spokesman M Venkaiah Naidu expressed happiness that the groundwork had been done for the smooth transition of power in Uttar Pradesh and Gupta would be sworn in tomorrow.

Referring to Singh, Naidu pointed out that "Kalyan Singhji is a senior party leader and his services will be used by the party high command after due consultations". But Naidu did not agree with media reports that the outgoing chief minister had set several conditions on ministry-making in the state. "We do not go by such reports," he said.

According to BJP sources, the presence of Thakre, Advani, Govindacharya and Union Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi in Lucknow tomorrow is meant to pre-empt any moves to exert pressure on the new chief minister to accommodate ministers he does not want. Put plainly, the central leaders will ensure that Kalyan Singh does not suddenly back out of his commitment to extend "whole-hearted support" to Gupta.

In a bid to 'defuse' any undesirable political fallout from Kalyan Singh's ouster, the BJP central leadership is reported to be still toying with the idea of having a deputy chief minister in the state. This is despite Gupta's assertion yesterday that he will not have a deputy chief minister.

BJP sources pointed out that the party's allies in the state like the Loktantrik Congress Party and the Jantantrik Bahujan Samaj Party are stridently claiming their share of the power-pie and all sorts of attempts are being made to press their demands.

Significantly, the party's senior leaders in the state -- Kalraj Mishra, Rajnath Singh and Lalji Tandon -- have warned the high command that some "die-hard" Kalyan Singh supporters are hell-bent on making discordant noises in the presence of the central leaders tomorrow. Any untoward happening should be crushed with an iron hand, they have said.

Senior central party leaders are reportedly in possession of a list containing the names of the "rebellious elements", the BJP sources indicated.

ALSO SEE:
Governor invites R P Gupta to form government in UP
Kalyan Singh's 'arrogance' sealed his fate

Tell us what you think of this report