Lalu faces battle to keep RJD intact
With political drama unfolding in Bihar, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav is in a piquant situation to keep his MLAs intact. After the electoral loss of his wife Rabri Devi from Saran and daughter Misa Bharati from Patliputra constituencies, Mr Prasad’s clout within the RJD has taken a severe beating.
Now that the ruling JD( U) in Bihar seeks to cobble up a majority, a sizeable sections of leaders within the RJD seem warming up to chief minister Nitish Kumar. Though the RJD won four Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, most of the loyalists of Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav have lost the elections. The likes of Muhammed Taslimuddin from Araria, Rajesh Ranjan, alias Pappu Yadav from Madhepura, Jai Prakash Yadav from Banka seats are said to have won the elections more due to their local influence than the charisma of the RJD chief.
“Staunch supporters of Mr Prasad, like Mr Raghuvansh Prasad and Mr Prabhunath Singh, have lost elections. Mr Nitish Kumar is sensing an opportunity to make deep inroads in the support base of the RJD. The fragile political situation in Bihar, after the resignations of the chief minister, has clearly made the RJD MLAs vulnerable to encroachment by the JD( U) and efforts for this are already underway in Patna,” sources within the RJD said.
While JD( U) chief Sharad Yadav had sought to take support of Lalu for a “secular” government in Bihar, sources said, Mr Kumar is already in touch with scores of the RJD MLAs to cobble up a majority in the Assembly.
Incidentally, Lalu’s reputation to rally support base among Yadavs and Muslims took a sever beating after he could not ensure wins for his wife and daughter. “Lalu had staked his personal prestige in Patliputra and Saran constituencies. In fact, the RJD chief had camped in almost all the villages in Patliputra to ensure win for his daughter. But the poll verdict has given a telling blow to his political clout in the state,” said sources within the RJD.