M A I N   N E W S

14 BSP MLAs back Mulayam as CM

Lucknow, August 27
The Bahujan Samaj Party headed for a split as 14 party MLAs, including six outgoing ministers, met Uttar Pradesh Governor Vishnukant Shastri this evening to request him to invite Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav to form an alternative government.

With this, the SP claims that its numbers in the legislative Assembly along with those of supporting parties have risen to 210. The BSP had a total of 110 MLAs before the split.

As mediapersons were awaiting the arrival of Mr Yadav at Raj Bhawan, five more BSP MLAs, out which at least four were outgoing ministers, met the Governor requesting him to grant Mr Yadav an opportunity to form an alternative government.

Out of the five, four were earlier in the Congress who had parted ways with their parent party to form the Akhil Bharatiya Congress (ABC). Later they joined the BSP and were accommodated as ministers of state. These MLAs were Rajpal Tyagi, Nawab Kazim Ali, Virendra Singh Bundela and Dinesh Singh. Qutubbadin Ansari was the other BSP MLA who met the Governor.

An Independent MLA Mithilesh Singh also appeared before the Governor in favour of the SP forming a government.

Earlier today, while BSP minister in the outgoing Mayawati government Mehboob Ali came along with a Samajwadi Party delegation to meet the Governor, eight other party MLAs, including yet another minister, came later and urged Mr Shastri to invite Mr Yadav to form an alternative government.

The BSP rebels in the earlier batch included outgoing Forest Minister Thakur Jaiveer Singh, Surender Vikram Singh, Rajinder Singh Rana, Yogesh Pratap Singh, Rajinder Singh Chauhan, Brijender Singh, Shailendra Singh and J.P. Yadav. Apart from a Muslim, Caste-wise, among the others are a backward caste member while the remaining are Rajputs.

The eight MLAs who came later urged the Governor not to recommend imposition of President’s rule. “None of us MLAs wants fresh elections imposed to further burden the economy,’’ they told waiting reporters inside the Raj Bhawan premises.

For the sake of stability of the state, Mr Yadav should be given a chance to form an alternative government after BJP withdrew support from the ruling coalition forcing BSP Vice-President Mayawati to step down as the Chief Minister, they said. — UNI