The new BJP-led coalition ministry in Uttar Pradesh, headed by Ram Prakash Gupta, took office yesterday.
Significantly, prominent supporters of outgoing Chief Minister Kalyan Singh do not figure in the list of 22 Cabinet ministers and 25 ministers of state. Those left out include Ram Kumar Verma, Prem Lata Khatiyar, Hukum Singh and Janata Dal (United)'s Raghuvar Dayal Verma.
On the other hand, both of Kalyan's detractors, Lalji Tandon and Kalraj Misra were sworn in.
The exit of Kalyan Singh follows several significant changes that took place in the political structure of the state.
The last few elections have made it clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on its own cannot come to power in Uttar Pradesh. It will have to evolve a combination to retain power. And Kalyan Singh was a stumbling block in the formation of such an alliance.
Now that Singh's ministry has failed, the path is clear for the BJP to go ahead with establishing new alliances.
Kalyan Singh, on the other hand, still seems to harbour hopes of his party coming back to power on its own. Two days before tendering his resignation, Singh went to Ayodhya to reclaim the Ayodhya agenda that the BJP has dropped "for now". He argued that the people would never forgive those who had sidelined the Ayodhya issue, an obvious hit at Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The visit, however, made two things clear_that Singh was not going to revolt against the party leadership and, having reclaimed the temple agenda, one can safely rule out an alliance with Mulayam Singh Yadav. Having made his stand clear, Kalyan Singh is now free to pursue his battle within the BJP.
Kalyan Singh's downfall, however, began much earlier after the 1996 elections for the state's Vidhan Sabha, when no party had a majority to form a government. With the United Front government at the Centre and Mulayam Singh calling the shots, there was no question of allowing the largest party to prove its majority on the floor of the House.
The Vidhan Sabha was placed under suspended animation. And then began discussions for forming a government in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party. Several BJP leaders, including Kalraj Misra and Lalji Tondon, were in favour of an alliance with the BSP. They were even prepared to let Mayawati become the Chief Minister. Kalyan Singh and Rajnath Singh opposed the move.
