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Advani's announcement on Kalyan brought the BJP down

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

The Bharatiya Janata Party's last-minute announcement to let Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh continue in power was what led to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government's downfall.

But for that, the Bahujan Samaj Party would have abstained from voting, sources told Rediff On The NeT.

"It was only following L K Advani's declaration ruling out any change in the UP leadership that Mayawati changed her mind about extending indirect support to the government," they said.

Mayawati had demanded Kalyan Singh's head as the price for bailing the coalition out: This was again revealed in her subsequent outburst: "I wanted to avenge my humiliation at the hands of the BJP, which had forged a split in my party in the most unconstitutional and illegal manner."

Clearly, the BSP leader has not forgiven Kalyan Singh for masterminding the coup in October 1997, which saw her out of power.

Highly placed sources in the BJP said the party leadership was ready for a deal with Mayawati, and was already looking for an opportunity to axe Kalyan Singh. However, the chief minister got to know about it and, holed up in his official residence at Kalidas Marg for three days, began political manoeuvring.

The sources said he began by working on his allies, the Loktantrik Congress Party and the Jantantrik Bahujan Samaj Party, breakaway groups of the Congress and the BSP respectively. His strategy was to impress upon them that if he was removed, Mayawati would demand their ouster too.

"After all, your combined strength of 38 would become redundant in the event of the BSP's 49 members joining the ruling coalition," Kalyan is understood to have told LCP chief Naresh Agrawal as well as JBSP chief Narendra Singh.

The strategy worked. The two leaders airdashed to Delhi to meet the BJP leadership. Kalyan Singh followed the next morning.

"Haven't you seen what she did to us on the two past occasions when we extended support to make her the UP chief minister?" was Kalyan Singh argument.

Further, he assured the central leadership that it would not be difficult to garner five other MPs. In an obvious bid to impress critics of his leadership, Kalyan Singh got down to wooing fence-sitters in other parties. He made it a point to call on Chandra Shekhar and Om Prakash Chautala, pleading for support.

Meanwhile, as the D-day drew closer, Kalyan Singh's detractors in the BJP were routing for his ouster. Uttar Pradesh Housing Minister Kalraj Misra revived his bonhomie with Mayawati, promising that he would obey her orders if she helped him to power. He also left no stone unturned to scuttle the case of state Public Welfare Department Minister Lalji Tandon, whose name was favoured by both Vajpayee and Mayawati as Kalyan Singh's successor.

Kalyan Singh, for his part, promptly sought the good office of his old saviour, Home Minister Lal Kishanchand Advani. It was Advani who had stood between Kalyan Singh and Vajpayee all along. He sought a categorical declaration from the home minister to silence the dissidents in Lucknow.

Which was how Advani came out with his loud and clear press statement: "There will be no change in the UP leadership."

The announcement was stated to have come as a surprise even to Vajpayee. Advani, sources said, reassured him of a positive outcome in the confidence vote.

April 15 was Mayawati's revenge.

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