Despite the D.P. Yadav fiasco, the BJP today admitted five leaders in to the party. They are former Union minister Arif Mohammad Khan, member of the dissolved Lok Sabha Lakshman Singh, former RS member Rameshwar Singh, former Gujarat Congress general secretary Iliyas Khan and Momin Conference chief Humayun Ansari. Arif, who began with the Janata Party, later joined the Congress. He quit the Congress in 1986 after the then PM Rajiv Gandhi chose to undo the SC judgment in the Shah Bano case through a constitutional amendment. He had been out of the political scene for several years after a stint in BSP. Arif has assiduously nursed the Bahraich LS constituency, but his nomination from here is uncertain because the party has a sitting member from Bahraich. Arif told mediapersons: ‘‘I used all my force to checkmate BJP. Now I want to generate goodwill with the Sangh Parivar to bridge its gap with Muslims.’’Regarding his plans, Arif said: ‘‘I have no electoral agenda.’’ By weaning Lakshman Singh, brother of former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijay Singh, away from the Congress, the BJP has settled a score with the latter. Digvijay had tried to get Swami Prasad, brother of Chief Minister Uma Bharati, to switch from BJP to Congress before Assembly polls. The BJP may give Lakshman Singh the ticket from Rajgarh, which he represented earlier. Just baptised, Singh was ready with a slogan: ‘‘Bharat naya banayein, Bhajpa se kadam milayein (Let’s make a new Bharat by stepping with the BJP).’’ He said: ‘‘Except one or two people, I could not have respect for anyone in Congress. I have come to BJP as an ordinary worker.’’ He attributed his decision to join the BJP to the Congress-DMK alliance. The admission of Arif, Iliyas Khan and Humayun Ansari to BJP comes a day ahead of a high-profile BJP convention of minorities.
