Lucknow, Aug. 10 :    Lucknow, Aug. 10:  Risking its own survival in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP today annihilated its Frankenstein. In a lightning strike ahead of the Assembly elections, chief minister Rajnath Singh sacked his most powerful ally Naresh Aggarwal - energy minister and leader of the 20-member Loktantrik Congress Party (LCP). Aggarwal had been propped up by the BJP in 1998 when he broke away from the Congress to support then chief minister Kalyan Singh after the BSP had pulled out. The LCP chief, who was in Hardwar, hit back by withdrawing support to the BJP and threatened to wipe it out of Uttar Pradesh. But a section in the LCP ensured that the government, which was teetering on the brink in the morning, survived to see another day. Had the LCP's 19 ministers backed Aggarwal, the coalition would have been reduced to a minority, needing six more members to survive in the House of 403. The BJP and its allies, including the LCP, had 216 MLAs. The cloud of doom hanging over the government soon lifted as 15 LCP ministers, loath to relinquish power at a time when the post-election future looks uncertain, double-crossed their leader. BJP sources said a helicopter was sent to Hardwar to get the LCP legislators supporting Rajnath back to Lucknow. The 15 ministers, led by Fateh Bahadur Singh, met Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri in the evening and handed over a letter pledging support to Rajnath. 'It is not me but Naresh Aggarwal who has been reduced to a minority,' Rajnath quipped in the evening. The Governor echoed the chief minister to assert there was no danger to the government. The drama began early in the morning when Rajnath announced at a news conference that Aggarwal was being sacked for his irresponsibility and 'prolonged failures'. The chief minister also hinted at corruption in the power ministry and said a 'clean-up' had become necessary. 'Aggarwal has violated the principles of friendship and alliance. He has also violated the constitutional sanctity of his post of Cabinet minister. He is, therefore, sacked from the Cabinet with immediate effect,' he said. Rajnath said the decision was prompted by his ally's scathing remarks against the BJP in Hardwar yesterday. The LCP chief had alleged that the BJP's mismanagement, and not he, was responsible for the power crisis. But the BJP high command gave a different version for the sack. In Delhi, spokesman V.K. Malhotra said: 'The party had decided to dissolve the Assembly in September but Aggarwal was against it. He has been sacked because the party wanted absolute consensus.' Aggarwal denied he had been axed. Blaming Rajnath for being 'surrounded by corrupt ministers', the LCP chief said he quit on his own for 'ethical reasons'. 'I am fed up with the BJP and its bankrupt policies. They should be on the streets where they rightly belong. I will bring down the BJP.' The LCP leader said he had faxed his resignation to the Governor last night. But Shastri denied the claim.