Mayawati eats words, Kalyan Singh swallows bitter pills to keep BJP-BSP alliance going

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

One and a half months back, when the Bhartiya Janata Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party got together to rule Uttar Pradesh, no one thought the coalition would last, considering their ideological differences. Yet few thought the alliance would develop cracks so soon.

With Mayawati firing the first salvo saying the alliance's future depends on the BJP's attitude towards Dalits, skirmishes have broken out in the combine. ''I will certainly hand over power to the BJP, provided they agree to protect Dalits' rights,'' Mayawati roared before the House.

The chief minister had to eat her own words soon, thanks to BJP leader and Housing Minister Lalji Tandon's report, Protection of Dalits Is Not the Exclusive Right of the BSP. Addressing media persons in New Delhi a day after the report was released, Mayawati alleged, ''I never said all that; my statement has been distorted by the press. What I said was that the BSP would continue its alliance with the BJP as long as the latter protected Dalits.'' Though the clarification was no different from the alleged ''distortion'', she knew that she could get away by passing the buck to the media.

There was more trouble for the alliance in the next few days. After effecting a massive bureaucratic reshuffle, Mayawati went on a district-renaming spree. And in just about a fortnight, beginning March 21, she added five new districts to the state, taking the total to 73. Two more districts are said to be in the pipeline.

The BJP was not against the creation of new districts, but only the manner in which they were created. The haste with which the decision was taken, without taking the BJP into confidence, ignited the party's fury. Former chief minister Kalyan Singh was furious that his home district Aligarh was bifurcated with his knowledge. Slicing off three sub-divisions from the district, Mayawati carved out Mahamaya Nagar, named after Gautam Buddha's mother.

An angry Kalyan, whose traditional constituency Atrauli falls in the district, called on Mayawati the very next day and told her, ''Enough is enough.'' Criticising the combination of sub-divisions in the new district, he is said to have expressed his reservations over the name of the new district.

Neither of the two leaders divulged what transpired between them in the hour-long closed-door meeting, the first one since Mayawati assumed power. But what followed was a hastily conducted Cabinet meeting, where the creation of the new district and its new name were formally ratified. Even Public Works Minister Kalraj Misra, who criticised Mayawati's ''unilateral decision'' the previous day, chose to keep quiet.

And Mayawati got another opportunity to blame the media. ''No one raised any objection at the Cabinet meeting and Kalraj Misra too denied having said anything against the creation of new districts; it's a distortion and concoction by the press,'' she said.

Justifying the new district's name, she said, ''What's wrong if a district is named after the mother of no less a figure than Lord Buddha? In any case naming a district is the prerogative of the chief minister.'' Contradicting herself again, she said, ''I had held prior discussions with Kalyan Singh.''

Singh however denied having had any prior discussions in this regard with the chief minister. ''Yes she did tell me about her plans to carve out a new district out of Aligarh, but no mention was made about the name,'' he pointed out. ''My view is that such policy decisions should not be taken without the Cabinet's prior approval.''

The BJP is also unhappy with the name of another new district -- Chattrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar, named after the well-known social Maharashtra reformer -- created after splitting Banda district. The BJP said it to should be named Chitrakoo Dham, after the ancient Hindu centre of pilgrimage. However, the party welcomed the naming of NOIDA as Gautam Buddha Nagar.

Though both parties are desperate to continue the alliance, disturbing signals have begun to surface and particularly shocking is the recent statement of BSP supremo Kanshi Ram. ''I do not mind being labelled as an opportunist. After all, Dalits have been at the receiving end for centuries. So what if I am indulging in opportunism for their sake of power which is important to bring about social transformation,'' he said. Far from extending the BSP-BJP alliance to the national level, we are not even thinking of such an arrangement for the forthcoming parliamentary by-elections, he said.

Political pundits believe that the real trouble would surface when Mayawati has to hand to step down after a six-month term, allowing Kalyan Singh to head the coalition government as per the agreement between the two parties. Till then it would be a tight-rope walk for the BJP. For, it knows that while the BSP can get away with pungent remarks of Kanshi Ram and Mayawati, it is left with no option but to swallow a bitter pill every now and then.

Earlier story:
'The BJP-BSP is one of the most lethal political combine'