Instead, Gowda had demanded that the Congress should back the candidature of defence minister Mualyam Singh Yadav, who heads the Samajwadi Party. Gowdas arguement is that Yadavs party has 110 MLAs and Mayawatis only 67. Therefore, Yadav is the obvious choice to lead an anti-BJP alliance in the state.
Revealing the content of his conversation with Gowda last week, when the Prime Minister had made an unscheduled late evening visit to Kesaris residence, Kesari told the CWC Gowda had been unwilling to budge an inch in response to his pleas on behalf of Mayawati.
Kesari also complained to the CWC bitterly that the United Front steering committee had not even waited until he returned home after addressing it before rejecting his plea. He had focussed it as an appeal for support to a Dalit woman, oppressed by Hindu society for 3,000 years. Although there had been talk of resentment in some Congress circles over Kesaris personal appearance at the steering committee to plead Mayawatis case, there was no criticism of it at the meeting.
The CWC resolution said: The Congress president, having been authorised by the CWC, attended the steering committee meeting of the UF. Showing an unique gesture by his physical appearance, the Congress President Shri Sitaram Kesri pleaded for selection of a scheduled caste woman as Chief Minister of UP. But unfortuantely, the UF did not respond to his appeal and rejected this in disgraceful manner. The AICC spokesperson specially drew attention to that last phrase during his briefing after the meeting.