They were political stalwarts who charted the destiny of Uttar Pradesh and their sheer presence and absence changed the complexion of politics in the state. Today, they have been relegated into the wings and are becoming increasingly irrelevant in the present scenario. Former chief minister and ex-BJP leader Kalyan Singh, who leads this brigade, was once one of the tallest political leaders in UP. His word was command in his party and the public believed in what he said.
A few wrong relationships, political moves that backfired and his exit, re-entry, re-exit from the BJP robbed him of political credibility and his alliance and divorce with the Samajwadi Party left him virtually on the no man’s land.
Today, Kalyan Singh is not even a factor in UP politics. Though he is trying very hard to build up his newly floated Jan Kranti Party, there are few who are willing to throw their weight behind him. His press conferences have barely a dozen scribes in attendance and his space in newspapers is rapidly shrinking.
Mohd Azam Khan, the former firebrand Samajwadi Party leader, is another one who is being pushed into the sidelines. Mr Khan, whose fiery speeches, at one time, changed Muslim politics and gave the Samajwadi Party a definite pro-Muslim image, lost his space in state politics after he got expelled following a spat with Mr Amar Singh. Today, Mohd Azam Khan has been sidelined with the Congress and the BSP refusing to entertain him and his own ego prevents him from walking back into the Samajwadi Party.
Mr Azam, in the medley of political parties, remains a loner who has also lost his voice. The biggest veteran who has been pushed into political ignominy is former UP minister N.D. Tiwari. Even as chief minister of Uttarakhand and then governor of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Tiwari enjoyed immense goodwill in political circles in UP. Politicians, journalists and bureaucrats flocked to his residence to meet him whenever he was in the state. However, his alleged scandal in Andhra Pradesh, has made him a forgotten man.