Click to play videoLucknow: A day after his government received a major blow when four ministers from ally Rashtriya Lok Dal quit, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday refused to admit that there was any threat to his government.
Maintaining that there was no reason for him to get worried about RLD leader Ajit Singh pulling out support, Mulayam claimed he will prove his majority on the floor of the House.
However, the Chief Minister – who is already under considerable pressure – did make one comment that perhaps best reflected his sense of isolation in the party. "He (Ajit Singh) should have at least met me," he remarked.
When Yadav called an emergency meeting of his Cabinet on Tuesday night, he set in motion a volley of political speculation. The Cabinet decided to reconvene the Assembly and give Mulayam a chance to prove his majority on January 15.
“There is no threat to my government,” says Mulayam.
By reconvening the special session of the Assembly, Mulayam has tried to preempt any move by the Central government to impose President's rule on Uttar Pradesh as Central rule cannot be imposed if the Assembly is in session.
But Governor TV Rajeshwar has put a spanner in the works. The Raj Bhavan says since the current Assembly has been prorogued, it can't be reconvened.
The Congress on its part has been vocal about its criticism of the Chief Minister.
“State government has delayed in ordering notification in CBI inquiry for Nithari,” says MoS Home, Sri Prakash Jaiswal.
If voting were to happen in Assembly, chances are that Mulayam would survive.
He has the support of 211 MLAs, even without the help of the Congress and Ajit Singh.
The majority is 202.
But problems for Mulayam Singh just do not seem to end with Ajit Singh's departure.
The outcome of two important cases in the Supreme Court - the BSP MLAs defection case and a case relating to his properties - could mean more trouble for the UP Chief Minister in the days ahead of the Assembly polls.
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