I-T raids may revive Lalu’s fortunes
NEWDELHI: The I-T raids on properties of Lalu Prasad’s relatives in connection with benami land deals may have actually revived the ageing Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader’s fortunes.
Lalu — a mass leader who has picked up approximately 20% caste votes at the worst of times in an election — retains the capacity, presence of mind and political sharpness to turn around adversity on its head, and he has repeatedly gained political success despite corruption taints.
So, there should be no reason to presume that he will not overcome his present troubles.
That the raids came a day after RJD ally and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar distanced himself from the charges against the RJD chief, saying the issue concerned Lalu and Centre, says a lot.
Immediately after Wednesday’s raids, Lalu had come up with a loaded tweet, congratulating the BJP for its “new alliance partners”, which was widely perceived to be Nitish’s JD(U). An hour later, though, he played down the tweet.
The point is that despite their compulsive alliance, Nitish and Lalu have remained suspicious of one another.
Conspiracy theories suggest that details of Lalu’s alleged land deals may have been leaked by certain insiders in the JD(U).
The success of Bihar’s “Maha Gathbandhan” sticks like a bone in the BJP’s neck. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leaders had hurled the charges at Lalu during the campaign for the 2015 assembly elections, but failed to make a dent.
After the morale boosting win in adjoining Uttar Pradesh, BJP managers feel that now is the time to go in for the kill against an individual that the party regards as the “vulnerable enemy”.
The break-up of the RJDJDU-Congress alliance would provide BJP a window that it needs badly in the state. In the entire game, Nitish is seen walking on razor’s edge — maintaining distance from the RJD. The Congress linked the raids with upcoming presidential polls and called these politically motivated. Whenever the opposition coalesces together, it makes the government nervous, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.
Time and again, Lalu has shown that he retains the spark of 1997 — when he broke away from the Janata Dal to form the RJD.
But certain aspects have changed in the last two decades. For one, age has caught up with him, with ailments, and he lacks the stamina of yore. Second, unlike the past, his family is today under attack. Third, he faces a much more powerful political opponent in a re-energised BJP led by Modi and Amit Shah.
Despite all the adverse circumstances, Lalu can hardly be regarded as a pushover. The I-T charges against him and family will take time to establish, during which he will remain in the news in the coming months.
“Any news, even those with a negative connotation, can be considered good news for a politician as wily as Lalu, who has the ability to turn things around to his advantage in an instant,” remarked a scribe.