Why Mulayam hates ‘fronts’

In a significant revelation that is likely to have an impact on the inner dynamics of the ‘‘secular front’’ being put in...

In a significant revelation that is likely to have an impact on the inner dynamics of the ‘‘secular front’’ being put in shape right now, CPI(M) general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet has disclosed that Mulayam Singh Yadav got the maximum votes to replace H.D. Deve Gowda as prime minister in 1997 but was unjustly denied the post by his opponents within the fractious United Front.

In an interview to The Indian Express editor-in-chief Shekhar Gupta on NDTV 24X7’s Walk The Talk show tonight, Surjeet revealed for the first time the sequence of events which led to Mulayam’s ‘‘election’’ followed by sabotage from within — leading to the appointment of I.K. Gujral as the country’s prime minister.

Surjeet, who played a major in the formation of the UF government then, said the Congress destabilised the Deve Gowda regime because it wanted to join the government but ‘‘we were not for it’’. After the Congress — supporting from outside — insisted that Deve Gowda be replaced, there were just three names in the contest and it was decided to take a vote. Mulayam got a majority (‘‘120 votes or more’’), followed by G.K. Moopanar who got just about 20. Gujral was not one of the contenders.

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Surjeet said he was informed of the result by UF convenor Chandrababu Naidu and ‘‘I said announce it’’ and then left for Moscow for a conference. In Moscow, he was told to contact Delhi where an emergency UF meeting was on. Surjeet was informed that some leaders — Laloo Yadav and Sharad Yadav in particular — were insisting that ‘‘under no circumstances’’ should Mulayam be made the PM. Gujral was served up as a compromise candidate.

Tonight’s flashback to 1997 partly explains Mulayam’s current hostility to the idea of a ‘‘secular front’’ — be it led by the Congress or the left parties.

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