Kalyan’s son joins SP
A day after Kalyan Singh walked out of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), his son Rajbir Singh joined the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday and was appointed its general secretary. Pankaj Jaiswal reports.
A day after Kalyan Singh walked out of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), his son Rajbir Singh joined the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday and was appointed its general secretary.
Earlier in the day, Mulayam and Amar Singh met Kalyan at his home. Kalyan, who said on Tuesday that he wouldn’t join another party, said he would campaign for the SP in the Lok Sabha elections. Both Yadav and Kalyan said Amar Singh had played a pivotal role in bringing the two together.
Rajbir said he was always with the SP, on Wednesday he merely formalised it. There had been no talk of elections and he had joined the SP unconditionally, he said, adding, “I would do as the party would command.”
Amar Singh, too, said Rajbir had joined the party without any pre-conditions. “There was no deal, there was no pact with Kalyan Singh or his son.”
Two powerful forces — Mulayam Singh and Kalyan Singh — had come together and no one would be able to form the government at the Centre without the SP’s support, Rajbir said.
When asked how could the SP go along with a “communal” Kalyan, Amar Singh said, “He is not communal any more. He said yesterday that rejoining the BJP was the biggest mistake of his life. He has become secular from communal.” Kalyan’s decision to leave the BJP was a “weakening of communal forces”. His joining hands with Mulayam would have a significant impact on the UPA, he said.