October 20, 1997. It was around 2pm when a car carrying Kalyan Singh—who was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh till just a day before—stopped at the Bhadri House on Lucknow’s Najaf Shah Road. Singh was accompanied by Laxmikant Bajpai. The two had arrived to meet Raghuraj Pratap Singh, the MLA elected from Kunda. This young leader, all of 29 years of age then, wielded the power to secure the CM’s post for Kalyan Singh again. The tall man, who loved to wear dark glasses and was a fan of expensive cars and horse-riding, was dubbed Toofan Singh (Mr Storm) by some, while others had started addressing him as Raja Bhaiya. Over the previous few years, his royal swagger had become popular with people. With each electoral win, Raja Bhaiya’s stature and margin of victory kept growing. From different parts of UP’s Pratapgarh and Allahabad districts, people started coming to him to resolve their disputes instead of going to court. Raja Bhaiya’s court would deliver instant justice.