India, April 20 -- In the 1990s when the Mandal vs Kamandal discourse was dominating the country's politics with Uttar Pradesh (UP) as its epicentre, the two tallest backward leaders of the state -- Kalyan Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Mulayam Singh Yadav, the founder president of the Samajwadi Party (SP), had emerged as the two poles of the political spectrum.

The then Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh had announced implementation of the Mandal Commission's recommendations, granting 27% quota for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in 1990 amid a frenzied demand for the Ram temple by the saffron brigade. It was around the same time that the Sangh Parivar had intensified its countrywide movement for the temple, followi...