Mayawati bluff strengthens BJP's hands

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati calmed down a day after she demanded the resignation of Union tourism and culture minister Jagmohan to ensure that her alliance partner doesn’t pull the rug from under her feet, but the BJP is sure on its guard now.
The BJP, which had been vacillating between short-term advantages and long-term losses all these months, will never fully trust the BSP again.And Mayawati will have to mend her ways once and for all, overlooking the monumental loss of face she has suffered in the bargain. There are solid political reasons why the BJP decided to return the fire this time.
First, it became clear to the central leadership of the party that its core constituency of upper castes was fast drifting away towards the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, thanks to the BSP-centric functioning of the Mayawati establishment in Lucknow. Things had, in fact, come to such a pass that the BJP’s position had been reduced to that of a passive onlooker to all the government’s alleged acts of omission and commission.
The BJP has also realised that the developments in Uttar Pradesh may have a negative influence on the voters in the election-bound states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi. Moreover, members of the BJP high command were told that their party would, in fact, stand to gain in the Hindi heartland if Mayawati’s government was toppled, paving the way for Mulayam Singh Yadav to return to power in Lucknow. State BJP chief Vinay Katiyar was heard saying that ‘‘the atmosphere of 1991 will be recreated’’.
This is precisely what was conveyed to Mayawati without using as many words around Tuesday noon when Lalji Tandon, who is better known for his direct connection with the Prime Minister, rushed to the Raj Bhawan. What he discussed with the governor wasn’t known but it was time for the chief minister to get panicky. She called a press conference and retracted as dramatically as she had demanded Jagmohan’s dismissal from the Union government a day earlier.