LUCKNOW, 28 August 2003 — A political crisis in India’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh appeared to be close to resolution late yesterday with a regional party garnering nearly enough support to form a new administration, officials said.
The crisis was triggered Monday when Chief Minister Mayawati offered to quit over an abortive shopping mall near the Taj Mahal.
This angered Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Hindu nationalist BJP party, which was running Uttar Pradesh in coalition with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP, People’s Social Party).
The BJP accused Mayawati of making the move without consultations and immediately withdrew its support, forcing her to formally step down on Tuesday.
Television channels reported yesterday that eight BSP legislators broke away to support a party headed by ex-federal Defense Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Yadav’s Samajwadi (Socialist) Party is the largest in the 403-member state legislature, with 146 legislators. He needs the support of 203 members to form a government.
Following Mayawati’s resignation, Yadav on Tuesday staked claim to forming government in Uttar Pradesh, which traditionally determines the political fortunes of national parties.
The federally-appointed governor of Uttar Pradesh Vishnu Kant Shastri had given Yadav a deadline till yesterday evening to furnish his list of supporters.
With the eight breakaway BSP legislators meeting Shastri and pledging support to Yadav, he seemed to be inching closer to forming the administration in the state, analysts said.
If Yadav is not invited to form the government, the other option before the governor is to call for president’s rule and hold early state elections.
The main opposition Congress and some other smaller groups had earlier pledged support to Yadav, taking the number of legislators supporting him to 190.
