By Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, who formed the BJP’s government in the state in 1991, has passed away. He was also governor of Rajasthan. He was accused of criminal conspiracy in the Babri Masjid demolition case for it was during his tenure as CM that the 16th century mosque was demolished.
In 1989, V P Singh’s National Front government implemented the Mandal Commission recommendations which triggered nation-wide protests. Amid unrest, Kalyan Singh once happened to drop at RSS office in Lucknow, where senior Sangh member Murlidhar Dattatreya Deoras was staying.
Kalyan Singh told Deoras of his concern over the caste divide but latter told him not to worry. Instead start touring the state to unite people as Hindu, he was told. The true “Swayamsevak” that Kalayan Singh was, immediately embarked on a tour of the state. He was arrested on way to Prayagraj. Before the tour he was just another Lodh leader in the BJP, taking on other backward caste politician Mulyam Singh Yadav, who was then with the Janata Dal.
But while leading Ram temple movement, Kalyan united several smaller OBC castes—adding up to 16-17% of the OBC population, much more than any single OBC caste, be it Yadavs or Kurmis—and emerged as a strong OBC leader and BJP’ strong OBC leader and BJP’s Hindutav poster boy.
Kalyan Singh who blended Mandal and Kamandal – caste identity politics with Hindutav—into a potential mix that became the fuel for the BJP’s expansion, passed away in a hospital in Lucknow after prolonged illness. He was 89.
Much before the emergence of Narendra Modi on national scene, it was Kalyan Singh, who was seen in the party ranks as “Hindu Hriday Samrat”. His rise in the party was meteoric—its peak marked by the demolition of the Babri Masjid under his watch as chief minister — and his fall and fade out almost as rapid.
Incidentally, in 2017, the BJP returned to power in UP after a gap of 15 years riding the same mix of Mandal—Kamandal wave and is trying to tap into same coalition ahead of next year’s polls.
Expressing his condolences, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that “generations to come will remain for ever grateful” to Kalyan Singh for his contribution towards India’s “cultural regeneration”. And that he ‘gave voice to crores of people belonging to the marginalized section of the society”, working for “empowerment of farmers, youngsters and women”.
After 13-day BJP government in 1996, Atal Behari Vajpayee returned to power in 1998 with 182 Lok Sabha seats which included 58 from UP then ruled by Kalyan Singh. A year later, despite the glow of victory in Kargil, the party barely hung on to that figure.
The reason; the BJP’s tally in UP where the party had shrunk to 29 seats amid Kalyan bickering with Vajpayee during 1999 Lok Sabha elections. The buzz was that Kalyan told his aides that Vajpayee needed to become an MP before he could become PM.
These words sealed his fate. Marching orders came after he refused to vacate the Lucknow chair and join the centre. (IPA Service)
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