Contest claims lack substance

The most oft-repeated statement of leaders before the ensuing Lok Sabha polls is that their respective outfits are ready to contest all the 40 seats in the state. he JD(U)’s K.C. Tyagi has been saying this for weeks. So has former minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh of the RJD. The Congress state chief, Ashok Choudhary, joined them despite talks of an alliance with the RJD. So have the LJP leaders. Seasoned politicians claimed that none of the parties were seriously considering the possibility of contesting all the 40 seats. “None of them have 40 viable candidates to field. This is merely posturing,” said a former minister, recalling JD(U) MP Shivanand Tiwari's jibe at chief minister Nitish Kumar in Rajgir. Shivanand had said the party was dreaming of winning 40 seats when it did not have 40 candidates. “The 40-seat statement is aimed at bargaining as many seats as possible when the alliances take shape,” he added.

Dal-LJP pact poser

he JD(U) spokesperson, Sanjay Singh, was the first person to welcome the statement of Pashupati Kumar Paras, the brother of LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, that the ruling party (JD-U) was a “secular outfit”. With the RJD-LJP relationship under strain, Singh declared that if the LJP proposes for an alliance, his party would consider it. “Singh would naturally be the happiest man in the JD(U) if the LJP forms an alliance. He hopped into the JD(U) from the LJP despite being considered one of the closest aide of the LJP chief, Paswan. Even after the February 2005 polls, he was in favour of an alliance with the NDA. But the problem is that the alliance with the LJP will bring the likes of Surajbhan Singh and Rama Singh in the ruling party,” said a JD(U) leader.

Excuse Giriraj!

B>Former BJP minister Giriraj Singh created a political storm when he declared that Narendra Modi would kill chief minister Nitish Kumar. The JD(U) charged Giriraj with indulging in “political terrorism”, while the former minister amended his statement by saying that he might have forgotten to include the word “politically” in his statement. Several BJP leaders were amused over the episode. “One has to give concession to Giriraj for making politically incorrect statements and apologising later. Earlier, he accused Nitish of quarrelling like a dehati aurat (rural woman). Later, when there was a hue and cry over Girirraj insulting women, he apologised. He is prone to making politically incorrect statements and apologising,” said a BJP MLA.

Lalu rest worry for RJD

here was excitement in the RJD when its chief Lalu Prasad came out of the jail and took jibes at chief minister Nitish Kumar and the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi. When he left for New Delhi, the RJD leaders were hopeful that he would clinch an alliance with the Congress soon. But Lalu was admitted to AIIMS the day he landed in Delhi. His programme to visit Muzaffarnagar was postponed and when he was released on Tuesday, doctors asked him to rest. “It is sheer bad luck, the pace of our politics has slowed down,” said a senior RJD leader.