After a month of uncertainty, BSP’s national president Mayawati has finally expelled former Madhya Pradesh state unit chief Phool Singh Baraiyya and his lieutenant Sant Kumar charging them with entering into a secret pact with the BJP in the Assembly elections. Mayawati sent her message to present state chief P.P. Chaudhury who promptly executed the orders.Baraiyya was ousted from the post of state unit chief a month ago, after he publicly criticised his party’s covert plans to go into a pre-electoral alliance with the Congress. After years of criticising the Congress in the state, it was too much for Baraiyya to stomach. He was replaced by Sant Kumar, who was also removed a week ago for his loyalty to his former chief. Chaudhury was appointed in his place.In fact, sources confirm hectic efforts are on for a pre-electoral alliance in four of the five states going to polls, at the Central level. ‘‘A vast exercise is already underway in scrutinising every constituency in all states to chalk out an electoral strategy, so as to defeat the BJP,’’ says a source. ‘‘This is of paramount significance in the states of MP and Chhattisgarh, where the Congress is in a tight contest.’’ Over the last several elections, the BSP has grown to hold the key in closely-fought polls in the above states.So, will the expulsion of the trusted confidantes of BSP founder and mentor Kanshi Ram worsen the situation in an already crisis-ridden state unit of the BSP? Baraiyya was handpicked by Kanshi Ram in the late 80s and groomed to lead a fledgling party in the state. He soon acquired an image large enough to contest against the late Congress leader Madhavrao Singh Scindia in Gwalior, in the 1996 Lok Sabha poll. While he lost by a margin of over a lakh votes, he had enough clout in the rural segments of the Gwalior constituency to garner 22 per cent of the votes. No party could take this factor lightly in any contest.However, party leaders say his exit will not even make a dent in the BSP’s votebank. They point to the several splits in the UP state unit where the BSP ruled the state thrice, but yet its votebank has remained loyal to Mayawati. Says BSP’s parliamentary party leader, Rashid Alvi: ‘‘Our votebank remains intact despite anybody leaving the party because Mayawati is the only hope for Dalits, backward classes and minorities.’’
