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Kalyan stars at Mulayam's son's wedding

Amberish K Diwanji in New Delhi

The invitation card was elaborate, the wording simple. In Hindi, it said: "By God's grace, my son Akhilesh married Dimple...please do attend the reception." It was signed by Mulayam Singh Yadav. And the name turned what should have been a wedding party into a political tamasha. Held on the lawns of Yadav's bungalow, a short distance from South Block, where he had his office when defence minister, there were at least 3,000 guests, and that is a conservative estimate.

Since all those who mattered turned up, the spotlight was on who all the chief of the Samajwadi Party had left out. Left out were perhaps Delhi's two most important ladies: Sonia Gandhi and Mayawati. Yet, while no one from the BSP was present, a few Congress leaders turned up.

There was one star, and it was neither Akhilesh nor Dimple, the groom and bride who simply stood all along, posing for photographs. This star of the show was none other than Kalyan Singh, till recently chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, leader of the backward classes in Uttar Pradesh, and now engaged in a blood-letting quarrel with his political bosses.

At various moments, the crowds around Kalyan were larger than those around the bridal couple. Politicians, journalists, hanger ons, they all were around Kalyan Singh. And Singh did not disappoint the journalists and politicians. He spoke, but only slightly, preferring the metaphor. But journalists hung on to his every word as though God himself was speaking.

Bearers with trays containing delicious appetisers regularly appeared on the scene with chicken tikka, chilli chicken, spring rolls, fish tikka, and cold drinks (no Pepsi or Coke, though), but few of the hacks or politicians seemed to notice. Kalyan alone mattered.

Kalyan Singh was one of the first guests to arrive, at around 1915 hours and hung on till 2145 hours. Till recently the most bitter of rivals, Kalyan and Mulayam hugged each other as though long lost friends were meeting after years of separation. Press photographers and journalists present in hordes, went berserk. Flash bulbs popping, eyes blinking. The message was clear. Another marriage was in the offing.

Journalists tried desperately to get them, or at least one of them, to say something.... anything, but the two only seemed to exchange pleasantries.

Mulayam then guided Kalyan to a comfortable chair at the opposite end of the massive shamiana , and returned to be next to his son and new daughter-in-law, who were being introduced to the visitors. The hacks crowded round Kalyan, but he kept quiet.

Then, Prime Minister A B Vajpayee trooped in along with the omnipresent black cats, to be greeted by Mulayam Singh Yadav. After meeting the couple, the prime minister was heading towards the centre of the hall when suddenly Kalyan Singh got up and headed straight for the PM. Considering the fact the relations between the two, to put it delicately, were pretty rotten, there was utter confusion. However, to the relief of everyone present, Kalyan only did namaste to Vajpayee and then both posed for photographs. Again, flash bulbs went off like crazy. But neither exchanged a word with each other, and Kalyan went back to his chair while the PM departed.

Much later, Kalyan Singh said that he had only gone to pay his respects to the prime minister. "When I have greeted all former prime ministers, surely I must greet the present PM!"

While Kalyan was hogging the limelight, other BJP leaders watched with some amusement. Almost unobtrusively, BJP ideologue Govindacharya, who is in charge of Uttar Pradesh, slipped in. A few journos who spotted him immediately sought his reading into the meeting between Kalyan and Mulayam. He he did not reveal much.

Journalists: "Will you take action against Kalyan for his statements against the prime minister?"

Govindacharya: "The party leadership will consider it. But he seems to be going beyond tolerable limits."

And with Kalyan, journalists asked when he would take some definitive steps.

Kalyan Singh: "When the time is ripe."

"When will that be?"

"You will know."

"But will it be soon or later?"

"You know, if you pluck a mango very early, it is raw. And if you keep it in the hay for too long, it rots. Hence, to enjoy the mango, you have to ripen it for just right amount of time."

"So when will this mango ripen?"

"For that you must wait. But when it happens, you will know."

Then, one journalist asked, "Sir, you represent the Hindutva hardline, yet you are now seeking an alliance with Mulayam Yadav who is totally opposed to Hindutva?"

Kalyan: "If the prime minister can drop the Ram temple issue, who am I, a small party worker, to take up the issue then?"

It was the unofficial line, the non-categorical answer, the hint that we were waiting for.

It was during Kalyan Singh's rule in Uttar Pradesh that the Babri Masjid was destroyed in 1992. On the other hand, Mulayam Yadav became the hate object of the Hindutva forces when he ordered the police to open fire on crowds in Ayodhya who had gathered to conduct the shilanyas puja in 1987.

But this great chasm now seemed bridged as the wedding wore on and guests came and went. Kalyan Singh would virtually meet all the politicians who turned up for the wedding, departing only towards the end. He promised the scores of journalists a press conference in two weeks time.

Other politicians were also present, but all seemed to have a minor role in the grand drama being enacted.

The former defence minister had also invited each and every senior bureaucrat present in Delhi, senior officers of the armed forces and other prominent people. So careful was he with the invitation, that the card was delivered by his supporters by hand to all of them, including senior journalists on the political circuit.

However, there is one category of people who even politicians cannot match. The film stars. Rajesh Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Raj Babbar, three Bollywood stars representing three different parties, turned up. And the children and youngsters were eager to only see them at close quarters. Also present were Dilip Kumar and so was the Big B (Amitabh Bachchan), the latter accompanied by his daughter Shweta Nanda.

Both caused a surge in the crowds with people in the hall trying to see them.

With so much politics as food for thought, little attention was paid by the politicians on the lavish dinner spread on the lawns beyond the shamiana. Others, however, made a beeline for the awesome gastronomic treat awaiting them. Six kinds of salads, different vegetables, non-vegetarian items along with hot parathas/rotis/naans, were being served to the hungry guests on a cold winter night. And after the desert of ice cream and halwa, hot coffee or chocolate was served.

Outside, the entire road was lined up with cars. Policemen were earlier busy directing traffic and also frisking the visitors at the gate, but as the night wore on and most of the VIPs left, they were relaxing and looking forward to the dinner that awaited them inside.

Beyond Lutyen's Delhi, most of city seemed unaware of what was happening, having fallen asleep, or heading home as the cold of the night turned bitter. Or maybe they just didn't care about the petty games that our politicians play.

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