Direct Rule in India State After Woman Ousted

Indian President Shankar Dayal Sharma brought the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh under his direct rule Wednesday, a day after its low-caste Hindu chief minister lost her majority in the state assembly.

The move surprised some political pundits but appeared to form a key plank in Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao’s electoral strategy against his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) archfoes before next year’s general elections.

Sharma’s proclamation left the state assembly in suspended animation, enabling the state governor to decide later if he will swear in another government.

All political parties agreed that the stakes had increased in Uttar Pradesh after the Hindu nationalist BJP ditched the young government of Chief Minister Mayawati. Mayawati promptly resigned, terminating a government sworn in only June 3.

The BJP says it backed out of the brief alliance with Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party of Hindu “untouchables” over ideological differences and allegations her regime was corrupt.

But a BJP deputy accused Rao of engineering the split.