R. P. Gupta to be new UP CM
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 9 — The BJP central leadership today decided to replace the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Kalyan Singh, and indicated that the Vice-Chairman of the UP Planning Board and former Deputy Chief Minister of the state, Mr Ram Prakash Gupta, will be his successor.

The decision was taken at a high- level meeting this morning at the Prime Minister’s 7, Race Course Road residence. Apart from Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the meeting was attended by the BJP President, Mr Kushabhau Thakre, the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K.Advani, and Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi.

Soon after the meeting, three Uttar Pradesh leaders, including the President of the state BJP unit, Mr Rajnath Singh, and senior leaders, Mr Kalraj Mishra and Mr Lalji Tandon, were summoned by Mr Thakre to the Prime Minister’s residence and informed about the decision to effect a change in the leadership of the legislature party in Lucknow.

Emerging out of the nearly 45-minute-long meeting, Mr Thakre said the leadership had taken a decision to replace Mr Kalyan Singh. Party sources later disclosed that Mr Gupta would be the new Chief Minister as he was the most acceptable candidate for all sections of the party and the allies of the BJP in the state. Being the Chairman of the State Planning Board, Mr Kalyan Singh apparently has a good rapport with Mr Gupta.

News agencies also confirmed from Lucknow that Mr Gupta had been called to the Capital this evening by the Prime Minister and he had been tipped as the new Chief Minister.

The party headquarters also made available a bio-data of Mr Ram Prakash Gupta.

The 75-year-old Mr Gupta is a science postgraduate from Allahabad University and he served as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state in the Charan Singh Government between 1967-1970. He was the Deputy Mayor of Lucknow between 1964-65. At present, Mr Gupta is not a member of either the Assembly or the Legislative Council.

Mr Thakre said Mr Kalyan Singh had accepted moral responsibility for the party’s poor showing in the recent general election and had expressed his desire to be relieved from the Chief Minister’s post. "The central leadership has decided to accept Mr Kalyan Singh’s request", he added.

Mr Thakre said he has been entrusted with the task of talking to the state leaders and MLAs to arrive at a decision about Mr Kalyan Singh’s successor.

He said a meeting of the BJP MLAs would be convened at Lucknow within two or three days. Party sources said the meeting was likely to be held on November 11.

Mr Thakre said he had consulted all state leaders yesterday on the leadership issue.

The party President, however, refused to comment when asked if Mr Kalyan Singh would be accommodated in the Union Council of Ministers.

Mr Kalyan Singh, who was summoned for the meeting yesterday, skipped his visit to the Capital and instead went to Ayodhya to offer prayers at the Ram temple there.

Senior BJP Vice-President, Mr J.P. Mathur, clarified that the party leadership had not construed Mr Kalyan Singh’s visit to Ayodhya as an act of indiscipline.

He said Mr Kalyan Singh was not being removed as a punishment for the reverses suffered by the BJP in the recent elections and his replacement was only "a solution to the problem" in the state which had cropped up in recent months.

He was hopeful that the allies of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh would go along with the decision.

The UP BJP leaders, Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr Kalraj Mishra, told newspersons after attending the meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence, that they were never in the race for the Chief Minister’s post and it was the media which had floated their names as contenders.

"We had to make it clear to the high command that we are not interested to replace Mr Kalyan Singh as some vested interests had been planting our names in the papers and electronic media for the past few days", they clarified.

Kalyan Singh in defiant mood

AYODHYA, Nov 9 (UNI, PTI) — The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Kalyan Singh, today gave a clear hint that he would not take lying down the BJP leadership’s decision to replace him.

Addressing a gathering of sants here, a defiant Mr Kalyan Singh read out a couplet giving an indication of things to come.

"Sabr aur sahne ki seema hoti hai aur bandh too-ta hai dheeraj ka, jab ati hoti hai, ati hone par pralay aur parivartan hota hai, tab nai sarashti ka sarjan hota hai’’. (There is a limit to patience and tolerance, heavens break loose when that limit is crossed. There is a deluge paving way for a new dispensation).

He said the BJP high command’s decision to give up the Ram temple issue, had cost the party dear in Uttar Pradesh.

In an aggressive mood after the announcement that senior BJP leader Ram Prakash Gupta would replace him as chief minister of the state, Mr Kalyan Singh said his opposition to the Ayodhya issue being put into cold storage had earned him the wrath of the party leadership.

He said the temple issue was related to the faith of the common man, and by giving it up, the party had committed a blunder.

The BJP’s ascendancy was due to its taking up the temple issue.The party high command should analyse the effects of giving up the temple issue on the people.

Without naming Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, he said he should visit Ayodhya, the city of Ram.

"In this age of struggle for power, one road leads to Delhi and the other to Ayodhya, and I thought it better to take the road to Ayodhya to the ‘darbar’ of Lord Ram’’, he said.

Mr Kalyan Singh said he had visited Ayodhya after becoming chief minister for the first time and he was now again in Ayodhya but at a time when the struggle for power was on.

Earlier, the chief minister had darshan at Ramjanmabhoomi and Hanuman Garhi.

Later, he told newsmen here that the party’s drubbing in the state in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections was due to "dropping of the three issues from the agenda".

The Chief Minister said Ram Janmabhoomi, uniform civil code and abrogation of Article 370 were the "most vital parts of the BJP’s agenda... dropping of these issues from the agenda was the main reason behind the reverses".

SP watching situation in Lucknow
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 9 — Keen on extracting maximum advantage from the trouble within the BJP, the Samajwadi Party leaders are camping in Lucknow and monitoring the situation closely.

The Samajwadi Party leaders, specially the party chief, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav, and his close confidant, Mr Amar Singh had reportedly rushed to the Uttar Pradesh Capital this morning. The party is hoping to cash in on the discontentment among the supporters of Mr Kalyan Singh following his removal as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

While the Samajwadi Party leaders are not wanting to comment as yet on their future strategy, specially as Mr Kalyan Singh had the backing of as many as 150 MLAs, but it is clear that Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav is in Lucknow to target the vulnerable BJP supporters who could eventually come into his fold to form another viable alternative in the state.

Political observers here did not rule out the possibility of the emergence of another combination with the majority backing of the Backward Classes, among whom Mr Kalyan Singh has a major backing. Besides, the Samajwadi Party also has a similar vote bank and in the eventuality of Mr Kalyan Singh deciding to turn against the party high command it could be a different situation in Uttar Pradesh.

According to reports, Samajwadi party, having already carried out a coup of sorts by sneaking in die-hard Kalyan Singh supporter Sakshi Maharaj, is now concentrating on using his influence to break the others. The Samajwadi Party, besides working on breaking the BJP MLAs is also preparing for a possible early assembly election.

Samajwadi party leaders claim that feelers had already been sent out identified "vulnerable" targets within the BJP. Ideally, the Samajwadi Party would use to its best advantage any move by Mr Kalyan Singh to openly indicate his empathies with the party. Indications to this effect were available earlier, but the Lodh leader has now toned downed his public pronouncements against the BJP high command, which has also forced the Samajwadi Party to keep a cautious approach towards the developments in Uttar Pradesh.

The Samajwadi Party is nurturing the hope of carving out and exacerbating the Achilles' Heel in the BJP, using the Kalyan Singh-OBC lever, a move which, as in the case of Sakshi Maharaj, is perceived to work covertly to the advantage of the party in the forthcoming assembly poll.

Although Mr Kalyan Singh has ruled out the possibility of a trial of strength in the state assembly, since it would damage the party on the whole, the Samajwadi Party was still hoping to create a rift in the BJP by using the backing, which Sakshi Maharaj enjoys among the MLAs, to its advantage. The party had been successful in placing their man on the seat of Chief Minister once before by using the differences prevailing within the BJP and was now hoping to do the same.

The Samajwadi Party leaders were not wanting to spell out anything, but were involved in hectic parleys with a number of MLAs in Uttar Pradesh. Commenting on the situation, a senior party leader said that it was still too early to say anything, but in politics anything was possible.