This Week Uttar Pradesh: Guest of high honour

Guest of high honour

For more than a month now, N D Tiwari, 88, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, has been enjoying the hospitality of the Samajwadi Party government. Mulayam Singh Yadav and his chief minister son Akhilesh have welcomed him in Lucknow, arranged for a fleet of cars and security, and given him a renovated bungalow where they visit him frequently. Tiwari recently visited Bundelkhand and "inspected" the functioning of hospitals, power stations and other government establishments, promising to give feedback to "my nephew and CM Akhilesh Yadav". After an inspection of Lucknow's Civil Hospital, Mulayam praised Tiwari for pointing out the shortcomings there. Now, delegations have started meeting Tiwari with demands to take up with the government. Many SP leaders believe Mulayam is doing this for Brahmin votes; other believe he is out to embarrass the Congress.

'SP show' miffs Opposition

The celebration of the 125th anniversary of the state legislature from January 6 to 8 has been slammed by the opposition, which calls it a Samajwadi Party show. The BJP questioned how the institution could be 125 years old when the current assembly was the 16th, though that did not stop BJP legislators from joining the celebrations. BSP president Mayawati, however, skipped the event. Hoardings erected in the city carried photos of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav; an advertisement of President Pranab Mukherjee's visit had Mulayam Singh Yadav's photo alongside those of the President, the governor, and the chief minister. Mulayam sat on the dias during the President's address to a joint sitting of both houses, although he is not a member of either.

Kalyan singh comeback

Former chief minister Kalyan Singh is finally set to return to the BJP on January 21. A rally in Lucknow will see party president Nitin Gadkari and other senior leaders welcome him and his son Rajveer Singh. Kalyan Singh could merge his Jan Kranti Party in the BJP. There is a hitch: he is an independent MP and may attract disqualification under the anti-defection law if he joins the BJP. Therefore, he might avoid "formally" taking BJP membership. UP BJP leaders believe his return will revive the struggling party by swinging votes from his Lodh community. On his birthday last week, many of them visited him. But a section in the party believes the hype is misplaced. The BJP had contested the 2007 elections under Kalyan Singh's leadership and performed poorly.

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