Paswan keeps Modi, Cong waiting, MLAs dump Lalu Big blow for Cong, 2 more MLAs join BJP in Gujarat
FLASHPOINT BIHAR Paswan softens stand on Modi, RJD faces rebellion in Bihar as MLAs look to side with JD(U)
PATNA/NEW DELHI: On a day of fast-paced developments, Bihar grabbed national attention on Monday with key player Lalu Prasad staring at a split in his party and partner Ram Vilas Paswan inching closer to ditching him and the Congress for the BJP, leaving political equations in the poll-vital state in a flux.
Prasad, who is keen on a pre-poll alliance with the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, suffered a big blow when reports claimed in the evening that 13 of his 22 Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLAs planned to switch sides to the ruling Janata Dal (United) in the state that send 40 members to the Lok Sabha.
Later, senior RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui paraded six of the 13 MLAs in front of the media to show they were still with the party. The six MLAs claimed their signatures were forged in the letter that the rebel legislators sent to the speaker, demanding they be recognised as a separate group. Later in the night, three more MLAs returned to the party.
But, rebel RJD legislator Samrat Bihar with its 40 seats is crucial to the Lok Sabha outcome along with Uttar Pradesh In 2009, NDA together won 32 seats — JD (U) 20 and BJP 12. The two have since split
BJP stands to make vital electoral gains if Ram
Vilas Paswan’s LJP decides to go with it
A tie-up will ensure
BJP the support of
Dushadhs (Paswans), an aggressive Dalit
Chaudhary said it was just the beginning, “more party MLAs will join us”. The developments will weaken Prasad’s bargaining power when and if he sits down to work out a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress and Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).
Adding to Prasad’s problem, Paswan seems to have softened stand on the “communal politics” of BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi, putting a question mark on the future of the planned “secular alliance” of the three parties. group known for standing up to upper castes Dushads are evenly spread throughout the 40 LS constituencies but have a sizable presence in at least 10 seats and can influence the outcome
Considered natural leaders among various Dalit groups, Dushads can also get votes transferred from other Dalit sub-castes
A formal announcement on a poll tie-up with the BJP would be made in the next few days, LJP sources said.
Paswan was himself unavailable for comments, but his son Chirag downplayed allegations of Modi’s involvement in riots, saying “the BJP prime ministerial candidate had got a clean chit from the court”. A decision on alliance would be taken in the next few days, he said.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 >> SETBACK FOR LALU, P8 NEW DELHI: In a huge setback to the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, five of its sitting legislators have quit the party in the last few days for the BJP to rally behind its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
In the 182-member House where the BJP enjoys a brute majority of 119, the resignations change little but clearly indicate that Modi continues to have a firm grip on state politics even as he travels across the country campaigning for the general elections.
Modi has also managed to send a strong signal to his detractors within the BJP that in his quest to be the next PM, he has not ignored the party’s interests in Gujarat.
The latest jolt to the Congress came on Monday when MLAs Chhabilbhai Patel and Prabhubhai Vasava submitted resignations to speaker Vajubhai Vala.
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