Lucknow:
The BJP's Kalraj Mishra was seen praying at the party's office in Lucknow this morning. The response seemed near immediate - by 8.30 am, it was clear that his party was the surprise star in the UP elections, with early leads showing it positioned to be the second-largest party in the state, behind Akhilesh Yadav's Samjawadi Party.
Exit polls had predicted a poor performance for the BJP; their math now appears to have been seriously off.
Much of the credit for the BJP's performance will go to Uma Bharti, the former Madhya Pradesh chief minister who was brought into UP to be the face of the party. Mr Mishra, another veteran, said that the BJP's brief association with Babu Singh Kushwaha did not tarnish the BJP. "There will be no impact of the Kushwaha factor," he said. Mr Mishra added: 'I am confident the results will be in our favour."
Mr Kushwaha was arrested on Saturday after UP finished its seventh and final phase of voting. He has been accused by the CBI of misusing his office as Family Welfare Minister and playing a lead role in a huge scam birthed by the funds that are sent from the centre to the UP state government through the National Rural Heath Mission scheme. Mr Kushwaha, once known for his proximity to chief minister Mayawati, was sacked by her in November last year. He then quit her party and moved to the BJP just as campaigning was beginning in UP- a move that distressed several senior leaders within his new party. People like Maneka Gandhi said her party had erred by accepting a leader accused of corruption.
Mr Kushwaha seemed to rescue the BJP from its acute embarrassment by volunteering that his membership of the BJP be suspended till he is cleared by the CBI. The BJP then said he would not campaign for the party. But at many rallies, Mr Kushwaha was seen championing the party's candidate.