Commentary/Rajiv Shukla

Mr Unreliable

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Kanshi Ram has established himself as the most unreliable politician of our times. He shifts stance with effortless ease, ditches allies without a thought, and fails to keep any of his promises.

Today, the United Front, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are all wary of the BSP supremo's motives. This is hardly surprising as Kanshi Ram seems hell-bent on badmouthing his fellow politicians -- friends and foes alike. The BSP has an alliance with the Congress, but its chief makes it a point to abuse the Congress and Congressmen at every public forum.

While still hobnobbing with the BJP in a bid to form the next government in Uttar Pradesh, Kanshi Ram insists on referring to it as baniyon ki party. And in his scheme of things, Defence Minister Mulayam Singh is a goonda, businessman and former ally Jayant Malhoutra a chor, Communications Minister Beni Prasad Verma a badmaash, and Kalyan Singh 'communal'.

What about Kanshi Ram himself? Well, if you are looking for principles, look elsewhere but for sheer political opportunism, the BSP leader does score full marks. To begin with, he broadened his support-base by joining Mulayam Singh's government in UP and then coolly dumped the Samajwadi Party to form his own government with the help of the BJP.

After Mayawati was toppled, Kanshi Ram reached out to the Muslims, apologised for having tied up with the BJP and pledged never to repeat his mistake. But nowadays, the BSP chief is again plotting to form a BSP government in UP with BJP backing.

Kanshi Ram's strategy is simple. Even if the BSP is in power for a few months in the country's most populous state, his party will gain immensely. Some BJP leaders like Lalji Tandon and Brahm Dutt Dwivedi have, apparently managed to convince Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Murli Manohar Joshi that by supporting a Mayawati-led government in Uttar Pradesh, the party will be able to win crucial dalit votes in vital pockets of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, and, of course, UP during the next Lok Sabha election. But the BJP should remember that given his track-record, Kanshi Ram is unlikely to maintain close links with the BJP till then.

The BJP would also do well to learn from the manner in which the BSP has treated the Congress. The party tried its level best to win over Kanshi Ram and Mayawati after the UP polls. And the BSP leaders led the Congress on a merry dance. Both Sitaram Kesri and Jitendra Prasada seemed confident that an enduring alliance with the BSP could be worked out. But they had reckoned without Kanshi Ram and his dubious tactics. And in Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal was at the receiving end of Kanshi Ram's unscrupulous ways. After having committed himself to an alliance with the Akali Dal, the BSP chief has now dumped Badal.

Kanshi Ram has lost all credibility in political circles. I feel that all parties should boycott him and refuse to enter into an alliance with his party.

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