LUCKNOW, February 25: Even as ``managers'' of both the Jagdambika Pal and the Kalyan Singh camps hunted for support on the eve of the crucial ``composite floor-test'' in the Assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed it had won over 18 of the 22 Loktantrik Congress party (LCP) MLAs.``All 18 are with us and those in the Pal camp have already been expelled from the party,'' said LCP leader Naresh Agarwal. All the 18 MLAs have been holed up by the BJP at a resort owned by a relative of Kalyan loyalist and independent MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, around 20 km from here. The BJP had to face some embarrassment when Minister Narendra Singh who is also the leader of the Jantantrik Bahujan Samaj Party, the group of BSP rebels backing Kalyan Singh , presented a list of nine more BSP MLAs ``pledging support'' to Kalyan Singh. Minutes later, BSP leader Mayawati called a press conference and paraded seven of these nine MLAs. ``It's an open case of fraud and we will lodge an First InformationReport against those presenting fake affidavits on behalf of my party legislators,'' Mayawati said.
The BJP also claimed that it had won over Independent MLA Daya Shanker Varma while eight of the total 11 Independents have already supported Kalyan Singh. Raja Ram Pandey, who formed a separate JD (R) faction along with two other MLAs, has also backed Kalyan. Pandey, incidentally, was the most vocal in withdrawing support to the Kalyan government on Saturday and remained with Pal till last night.
But now he too has pledged support to Kalyan.
``Let the floor test be complete and you will see that the number of votes in my favour are much higher than our real strength on the floor of the House,'' claimed Kalyan Singh, adding that a number of MLAs would cross party lines and vote in his favour.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
