'My inner voice told me it was necessary for me to support the BJP'

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati pulled the rug from under Kalyan Singh, who followed her in the power-sharing arrangement they had decided upon. But no one expected that the 28-day-old Kalyan Singh government would be able to prove its majority in the two days it had to collect support.

However, the BJP, which was short of 36 MLAs, got a boost on Monday when backing came from an unexpected quarter -- a splinter group of 20 Congress MLAs which has named itself the Uttar Pradesh Loktantrik Congress.

In an interview to Syed Firdaus Ashraf, the faction's leader, Naresh Agarwal said the Congress's national leaders had, for minor political gains, ignored the crying problems of the state. So he and his friends had taken it on themselves to quit the Congress and help the BJP prove its majority on Tuesday. Excerpts from the telephone conversation:

Why did you decide to support the Kalyan Singh government and split the Congress party by forming the UP Loktantrik Congress?

In the last six years we have seen many governments in Uttar Pradesh. The dismissal of so many governments and the consequent election has resulted in a financial burden to the public. Keeping the public interest in mind, we decided to support Kalyan Singh's government.

Do you think Kalyan Singh will be able to prove his majority on Tuesday in the state assembly?

Yes, I am sure more MLAs from other parties will leave their parties and support the BJP government.

Do you think that some Bahujan Samaj Party members will also support the BJP government?

I am sure that at least 25 BSP MLAs will break out and support the BJP government.

How can you say that when Mayawati has allegely placed them under virtual house arrest?

This is not true. There are nearly 25 MLAs who are not in the same place as the other BSP MLAs. I am sure these MLAs will support Kalyan Singh. You just wait and watch.

Will you join the government?

Yes, in fact, some of our party members will be ministers. We have to sit and discuss the strategy after we prove the vote of confidence tomorrow (on Tuesday).

What will be your stance on Ayodhya, considering the first thing Kalyan Singh did after becoming chief minister of UP was to go to the controversial site in Ayodhya and offer prayers?

There is nothing wrong in offering prayers. Every Hindu has a right to pray. And I don't thing there is anything wrong in praying at the disputed site.

Since you say that you will be a part of the BJP government, will you also support the BJP's stand on the Ram Janambhoomi issue?

The matter is subjudice and I would not like to comment on it. It is up to the court to decide the matter.

There are rumours that Congress vice-president Jitendra Prasada engineered the split since he was unhappy with party chief Sitaram Kesri...

No, this is not true. In fact, he intervened and told me not to take this step. But my inner voice told me that, for the betterment of the state, it was necessary for me to support the BJP at this juncture.

Do you feel that after you split up with 19 Congress MLAs, more will follow suit?

Yes, I think by tomorrow (Tuesday) at least seven other will join us. Interestingly, there are rumours that Uttar Pradesh Congress Legislature Party chief Pramod Tewari will be the only Congress MLA left in the state.