The “inordinate” delay in the return of former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh to the BJP seems to be paving the way for mo-re murmurs and mirth on the issue. Party cadres, on one hand, have begun questioning the intentions of the party high command on Mr Kalyan Singh’s return and on the other hand, a group known for its anti-Kalyan leanings has begun sending out SMS jokes on the impending return.
“Why this undue delay in bringing the leader back into the party? Senior party leaders Rajnath Singh and Kalraj Misra had claimed that they would celebrate Diwali with Mr Kalyan Singh in the party but the festival has come and gone with no word on his return. BJP president Nitin Gadkari may be busy but surely he can spare 30 minutes to announce Kalyan Singh’s return,” said a senior BJP MLA, adding that the deliberate delay seemed like a ploy to insult the veteran leader whose political flip-flop has already dented his image.
The anti-Kalyan lobby, meanwhile, is making most of the situation and the SMS jokes are already doing the rounds. “Name two things that are always late — Farakka Express and Kalyan Singh” and “What is even more unpredictable than London weather — it is Kalyan Singh” — are just two of the many one-liners circulating in Lucknow.
A section of senior leaders in the BJP have also started questioning the “benefits” of Mr Singh’s return. According to this group, Mr Kalyan Singh has lost his credibility as a backward leader and as a Hindu leader and his presence in the BJP would be more of a liability than an asset.