Fresh poll, fresh warning from UP rebels

The Mayawati government is living on razor’s edge (its numbers just one above the majority mark) and there is always the possibility of crossvoting by disgruntled MLAs to allow the Opposition candidate to win.

The dissidents warned as much today when at a meeting they said they would not vote in favour of the nominee backed by the coalition. ‘‘The result on Monday will be the true test of who has the majority — the government or the Opposition,’’ said rebel BJP MLA Kovid Kumar Singh.

However, in what may be a setback for them, the Congress indicated it was unlikely to back the candidate put up by the dissident BJP MLAs and may abstain. ‘‘The Congress is ready to stand with the Opposition in any campaign against the Mayawati government but supporting their candidate for the council poll is a different matter,’’ a senior party leader told PTI. He also revealed that RLD president Ajit Singh met with senior Congress leaders in Delhi and urged them not to oppose Munna Singh.

After the BJPLP meeting, which was reportedly stormy as MLAs raised questions about Mayawati and party leadership’s functioning, a visibly disturbed Tandon admitted that there was dissatisfaction in the ranks. However, he said the government faced no threat and that Munna Singh would sail through tomorrow. Later, the party also asked its MLAs to support Munna Singh, although president of the state unit Vinay Katiyar clarified that no whip had been issued.

What must be also embarrassing for the BJP is that at the BSP and RLD legislature party meetings on the same election, all their MLAs came, exposing it as the weakest link in the coalition chain.

Among those who stayed away from the BJP meeting were partymen against whom the party has filed a petition for disqualification from the House, and also senior party leader Om Prakash Singh.