NEW DELHI, July 20: The Brahmin-Backward Caste divide in the Uttar Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has resurfaced on the question of extending the term of the Mayawati Government in the State beyond the stipulated six-month period of the coalition arrangement.

With just two months left of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)'s share of governance time, the Brahmin camp in the BJP has begun lobbying for an extension for Mayawati.

Her two most vociferous votaries in the party are senior UP leaders Kalraj Mishra and Lalji Tandon, both of whom feel that the present setup should not be disturbed for what they perceive as the short-term benefit of installing a BJP Government.

This camp, which has the tacit backing of senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi, has been arguing in favour of the long-term electoral gains from a BJP-BSP alliance - gains which it feels were amply demonstrated in the Faroukhabad bye-election which the BJP won comfortably with the help of BSP votes.

It feels that it is worth paying the price of granting Mayawati an extension if the BSP agrees to nation-wide tie-up with the BJP.

An alliance with the BSP will definitely pay dividends for the BJP in Madhya Pradesh where Kanshi Ram already has a strong base and possibly also in Bihar where the Dalit disenchantment with Laloo Yadav's politics is beginning to manifest itself.

On the other side is former BJP leader Kalyan Singh, who is waiting in the wings for Mayawati to hand over power to him. He did not mince words in expressing his opposition to this suggestion at a recent party conclave in Chitrakoot.

According to reports reaching here, the absence of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders at the conclave emboldened Singh to speak out against the Mayawati Government which is ruthlessly using the Harijan Act to settle scores with the non-Jatavs. Significantly, while the Act has ensnared some Brahmins, its main victims are the upwardly mobile OBCs and Thakurs.

The argument of this camp is that the BJP has gained nothing from the alliance and even stands to lose the support of its vote base because of the way the Government is harassing the non-Jatavs.

It feels that if Mayawati does not step down as agreed after six months, the BJP should withdraw support to the Government and prepare for polls.

Singh had fought hard against a tie-up with the BSP before the government was formed and although party president L K Advani agreed with his perception that the BJP should go it alone in UP, the former chief minister was overruled by the RSS which feels that the party must somehow coopt the Dalits. At a recent press conference, Sangh general secretary H V Seshadri described the alliance as ``a positive signal for social harmony''. Although RSS leaders are disturbed by the manner in which the Harijan Act is being used by the Government, they prefer to see it as ``the natural process of correcting a centuries-old wrong''.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.