Kanshi Ram outwits Mulayam, yet again

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

Mulayam Singh Yadav has been caught on the wrong foot again by an alliance between the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh.

In 1995 too Mulayam Singh wasn’t expecting that BSP supremo Kanshi Ram would suddenly withdraw support from the government, quietly forge an alliance with the BJP and make his protégé, Mayawati, the chief minister. The SP chief was busy presiding over a party meeting in the Crystal Room of Lucknow’s Taj hotel while Kanshi Ram was signing his political death warrant in New Delhi.

This time, Mulayam Singh was busy trying to keep UP Governor Romesh Bhandari in place when Kanshi Ram moved in for the kill.

Till Kanshi Ram surprised him, Mulayam Singh’s writ ran in the state via Bhandari, even when President’s rule was imposed. The former chief minister decided on postings of even such lower rung officials as police inspectors, engineers and technocrats. Even his younger brother Ganpat Yadav and cousin Ram Gopal Yadav, the Rajya Sabha member, could call up Bhandari and ensure postings for their friends. Top posts went to Mulayam Singh’s friends, no matter how sullied their record.

IAS and state civil service officers had great faith in Mulayam Singh, going to him for help even after the income-tax department raided them and unearthed assets worth millions of rupees. Mulayam Singh could not help them only because such assistance would put him in a spot too. Even Neera Yadav, who had once ditched Mulayam Singh, returned for help when the Central Bureau of Investigation was after her. Mulayam Singh obliged, and Bhandari kept the CBI at bay by ordering a judicial probe into the charges.

The bulk of Bhandari’s discretionary fund allegedly went to people recommended by Mulayam Singh. And when the winds swung against Bhandari, Mulayam Singh protected him, convincing the Congress not to attack the governor, at least in Parliament. He claimed the BJP hated Bhandari because he was secular, and cajoled many Muslim organisations into issuing statements in the governor’s favour.

What Mulayam Singh did not know was that the Rai Singh, a senior IAS officer who had helped bring him down from power in 1995, was at work again. Rai Singh took a proposal from the BSP to BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj, who rejected it, for Kanshi Ram had presumptuously suggested a 60-40 share in the UP cabinet and a 70-30 divide in the chairmanship of corporations and public undertakings, posts that are equivalent to a minister of state. The proposal also made no allowances for a steering committee to monitor the coalition.

Rai Singh returned to Swaraj with a revised offer of a 50:50 partnership from Kanshi Ram. The deal was hastened by a revolt in the state Congress Legislature Party, which demanded that the party not oppose the BJP demand for Bhandari’s ouster. Kanshi Ram feared that if the Congress rebels teamed up with the BJP, his own chances would be snuffed and so quickly forged the deal with the BJP.

If this marriage of convenience lasts it could prove an important factor in Indian politics. Otherwise, Mulayam Singh is still out there, waiting for his chance to get back into power.