Kalyan surprise guest at BJP tea for PM, has UP kettle on the boil

Although Kalyan today claimed ‘‘my coming here (to Tandon’s house) has no political meaning’’, people tried to decipher what Vajpayee meant when he said: ‘‘There’s a wave for change in the country. Uttar Pradesh should be ready for changes. The beginning for change was made in UP but the process slowed down for some years. That process should be activated now.’’

Reached over telephone later, Kalyan said: ‘‘My alliance with Mulayam Singh Yadav will continue.’’

But when he was asked if he planned to return to the BJP in the near future, he said: ‘‘I am no soothsayer.How can I predict the future course of politics? I had an invite from Tandonji. We have a very cordial relationship. Then Shiv Kumarji (PM’s aide) also called. Therefore, I went to greet Vajpayeeji. Who doesn’t go elsewhere? Even Soniaji does.’’

In UP, the BJP is in a mess and desperately needs a leader with some mass appeal to reach out to people ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Although Kalyan played king-maker in installing Mulayam Singh as head of a coalition government, he has of late been bitter on some counts.

At a time when he was beginning to get the feeling he was being sidelined, in came word of the Kanpur sex scandal where names of kin were dragged in.

His Rashtriya Kranti Party nominee for the Vidhan Parishad from Aligarh was defeated in the recent elections.

Kalyan also did not figure in Tuesday’s rally in Lucknow which was attended, among others, by H D Deve Gowda, Mulayam Singh, Ajit Singh and Farooq Abdullah.