PUNE, December 20: Has the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) decided to let the Congress leader Suresh Kalmadi sail through from Pune? This is one question which has been the talking point in local party circles and even among Congressmen ever since the Lok Sabha was dissolved.

To some, this may sound ridiculous but it is learnt that local BJP leaders have been told by a top party boss not to create any trouble for Kalmadi till the Congress high command decides his fate.

According to BJP sources, local leaders were maintaining a low profile under instructions from a top party leader. BJP national leaders see Kalmadi as a `friendly leader' in the Congress, who `may prove useful' in the event of a number game after the polls.

The BJP is said to have taken a wait-and-watch stand till such a time the Congress puts out its first list of candidates for the polls. There is a great deal of uneasiness in the Congress over renomination of those members of parliament (MPs) who were said to be eager to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party and avert dissolution of the house.

The BJP leaders feel that the first list of Congress candidates will provide them enough indication about "which of these former MPs could be accommodated."

Although Kalmadi has denied any role in a signature drive, aimed at defecting from the Congress, to save the house, he has come under attack from some of his own partymen. These partymen are now demanding that `all suspects' be kept out when it comes to distribution of party tickets.

The fear among these Congressmen is that these leaders would not hesitate to break the Congress if the BJP were to return again as the single largest party after the polls.

Kalmadi detractors in the city Congress claim the party high command has included four Maharashtra party leaders -- Suresh Kalmadi (Pune), Madan Patil (Sangli), Datta Meghe (Wardha) and Prafulla Patel (Bhandara) -- in their list of suspects.

All four leaders happen to be close associates of former chief minister Sharad Pawar.

But Kalmadi's supporters say this is a deliberate rumour being spread by those eager to see the All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesman VN Gadgil waving the Congress ticket from Pune. "Why else have they (Gadgil supporters) been going around saying that Meghe had been openly praising the BJP and that Kalmadi and Patel had tried to break the party? It is a ploy to ensure Kalmadi is not given another chance from Pune," conceded a Kalmadi loyalist.

The BJP seems to be making the most of the war within the city Congress between the Gadgil and Kalmadi camps. A local Bharatiya Janata Party leader went to the extent of saying that his party was prepared to back Kalmadi even if he were to contest as an independent candidate.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.