Thirty-three legislators of the ruling party have already sent in their letters of resignation to the national president of the party Kushabhau Thakre while three members of the Legislative Council have been reported to have also done so. The chief minister has been facing major dissidence for a long time now but has stuck to his chair but the way the rebels are slowly building up the tempo for his resignation, the time is soon to come when the state party unit of the BJP will have to do some serious rethinking. The dissidents have also said that the national leadership should take a secret of confidence to decide whether the legislative party members have trust in Kalyan Singh.

The chief minister has countered by saying that the central leadership has assured him that he will not be removed and that ``only a few unruly legislators'' are creating problems for him. The stage is thus set for a showdown.

However, the Uttar Pradesh imbroglio casts a wider shadow on the nature of functioning and the state of the BJP at large. It is known that Kalyan Singh enjoys the support of Union home minister Lal Krishna Advani while his opponents led by senior leaders like Kalraj Mishra have the backing of the Prime Minister. It is no major secret any longer that the two top BJP leaders do not see eye to eye on various issues and the rift has surfaced openly on more than one occasion. Advani's clout in the party is obvious while that of the Prime Minister by the very nature of his status and popular image within the party cannot be overlooked. The two leaders have time and again said that there are no differences that can possibly harm the party's prospects and that there is no rift at all. But Uttar Pradesh has become a test case in which the scenario on the eve of the polls has become almost symbolic of the nationwide image and prospects of the ruling party. The BJP may not be seen to be tampering with the Uttar Pradesh seat of power at the moment because of political compulsions and artihmetic but if the nature of what is happening in the politically sensitive state is anything to by, then it is becomes quite clear that the dissidence within the party will indeed cast its long shadow on the nature of the results that will decide the fate of the state in the next years. And the results, by any prophecy, does not auger well for the BJP.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, on the very nature of his government. After having been criticised for going on air on television after the defeat of his government on the floor of the House, the Prime Minister and his party leaders went public with the argument that his was nothing short of a full-fledged government and that the concept of caretaker government had no precedent in the country. After this, the Prime Minister went on taking unbridled policy decisions, chief among them the appointment of the Union home secretary on the eve of elections.

On Friday, however, the Prime Minister, perhaps slightly shaken by the strong protests against these sort of unilateral decisions, met the President, K.R.Narayanan, and explained his position. Though the official release said that the call was merely one of courtesy, it is apparent that the Prime Minister did have some explaining to do.