Advani caused a sensation by revealing in his book, My Country, My Life, released here Wednesday, that he and Mulayam Singh Yadav — otherwise supposedly sworn political foes — met soon after the Atal Behari Vajpayee government lost Parliamentary majority and Gandhi tried to cobble a new coalition. Advani disclosed that Fernandes organised his (Advani’s) meeting with Yadav at the Sujan Singh Park residence of Samata Party chief Jaya Jaitley, a confidante of Fernandes, on the night of April 20-21, 1999. The BJP veteran said Jaitley drove him in her car to the venue.

One of those who knew about the meeting told IANS: “Every bit of Advani’s description of the meeting with Mulayam Singh Yadav is a faithful account of the events” that unfolded soon after the Vajpayee government collapsed. According to another source, Samajwadi Party MP Mohan Singh did the spadework for the meeting. But Mohan Singh, speaking to IANS, denied he was any way linked to the Advani-Mulayam talks.

Mohan Singh, a long-time associate of Fernandes, said: “I have no idea about all this. I am not aware of any such meeting.”

Drama unfolds

As the former defence minister, Yadav lived opposite Fernandes’ 3, Krishna Menon Marg bungalow.

The Advani-revealed drama took place after the Vajpayee-led NDA government lost Parliamentary majority by a single vote after the AIADMK joined forces with the Congress and its allies.

Thereafter, all non-NDA parties got together to work out a consensus to forge a new government. With his aversion for the Congress known, Yadav called a meeting of non-Congress and non-NDA leaders at his residence and suggested that then West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu be prime minister. But Basu and the CPM rejected the idea.

Gandhi went in the meanwhile to President K R Narayanan and staked claim to form a new government, assuming that all those groups that had voted against the Vajpayee government would back her.

That was when Yadav gave Narayanan a letter saying his party would not support a government led by Sonia. Eventually, fresh elections took place and the Vajpayee-led NDA returned to power with more seats.