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Journalism of Courage
LUCKNOW, Jan 31: What is so uncommon between the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Atal Behari Vajpayee and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh?The two BJP stalwarts do not pull along well. Or so it seems from a number of recent incidents one of which being Kalyan’s deliberate absence from Vajpayee’s election campaign kicked off in the State on January 22.
While Vajpayee addressed three public meetings in the state at Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Allahabad, Kalyan confined himself in Lucknow. The Chief Minister would embark upon his campaign trail from tomorrow well after Vajpayee left the State.
During the iftaar party hosted by Vajpayee the same evening, Kalyan again avoided him. When some people requested Kalyan to take a seat by the side of Vajpayee, the former shot back, “Is it necessary that I follow everything you say?”
It certainly was not a coincidence when Kalyan reached the Lucknow collectorate half an hour after Vajpayee filed his nomination papers on January 27.
By the time Kalyanaccompanying the party candidate from Malihabad Purnima Varma, reached the collectorate, Vajpayee had already left after addressing a rather impressive gathering of BJP workers and supporters. Purnima’s husband, Sripal Varma incidentally, is joint secretary in Chief Minister’s secretariat.
The love and hate relationship between the two leaders stems from divergent views held by them on almost every subject except of course strengthening the party.
Vajpayee never approved of Kalyan’s decision to induct criminals in the cabinet to save his Government. Similarly, the two had exactly opposite views on BJP’s relations with the BSP.
While Kalyan termed the party as “live electricity wire” which could electrocute anybody and everybody in its contact, Vajpayee had hoped for another patch-up even after the bitter split on October 19.
Similarly, Vajpayee not agreeing to brazeness of Kalyan in wake of Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, had initially offered regrets for the act of Hindutva torch-bearers.
Butthe facade of unity between the two leaders maintained so far, has started cracking now though the two leaders still assert there were no differences between them.
Asked about his absence from Vajpayee’s election campaign recently, the Chief Minister said, “No one should interpret the incident as because of any differences between us. In fact, I had to attend a function on Subhas Chandra Bose’s anniversary.”
Kalyan claimed there was no need for him to be there with Vajpayee, wherever the latter went in Uttar Pradesh. “After all the State BJP President, Raj Nath Singh accompanied Atalji in his all election meetings” he said.
Advani nomination
