Kalyan dares inert BJP to sack him

NEW DELHI, OCT 17: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh's challenge to the BJP Central leadership to remove him if it so wanted, has...

NEW DELHI, OCT 17: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh8217;s challenge to the BJP Central leadership to remove him if it so wanted, has failed to break the latter8217;s inertia.

While asking the party to remove uncertainty over his continuance since it was affecting the state administration8217;, Kalyan also refused to accept any Central post signalling his defiance to any such move by BJP high command.

Situation was compounded on Saturday by an open threat by Kalyan Singh Fans Association members to take to the streets both in Lucknow and New Delhi8217; if any move was made to remove Singh as UP Chief Minister.

Kalyan8217;s strategy seems to be to portray himself as loyal and disciplined member8217; of the party while at the same time doling out threats through his supporters.

Another Kalyan-loyalist, Naresh Agrawal, Loktantrik Congress president too asked the BJP leadership on Saturday, to take an early decision on the leadership issue in the State to end the prevailing uncertainty there, as bickerings in theparty were sending wrong signal to the public.

In a veiled threat to BJP leadership, Agrawal said that it would be held responsible if any unprecedented development takes place in UP due to present crisis.

The BJP should study the reasons for its debacle in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections, keeping in mind the style of functioning of the State Government, ticket distribution and infighting in the party, he said.

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The BJP leadership however, has been maintaining a studied silence on the UP crisis. The party is unlikely to take a decision on UP before the national executive of the party scheduled here for November 3 and 4. The executive earlier scheduled for November 13 and 14 has been preponed because the Prime Minister would be away in Durban South Africa for a week after November 10 to attend Commonwealth Conference.

Senior BJP leaders claim that the party is likely to offer a package to the warring BJP leaders in UP to resolve the crisis. The biggest hurdle in removing Kalyan so far has beenunavailability of a suitable backward class leader, capable of keeping party8217;s other backward classes OBC vote bank intact. The party also did not want to antagonise its upper caste supporters to replace Kalyan with another OBC, ignoring upper castes.

A compromise formula being floated by a section of party8217;s top brass is to continue Kalyan as CM and appoint an upper caste leader 8211; possibly Kalraj Mishra or Lalji Tandon 8211; as Deputy CM to keep upper castes in good humour. State party president Raj Nath Singh may then be inducted in the Union Cabinet in the next expansion, removing all Kalyan detractors from UP. The party however, has been flooded with complaints by several BJP candidates who claim they lost the elections because of Kalyan8217;s apathy to electioneering and sabotage by his supporters. Party leaders are likely to discuss such complaints at the national executive early next month.