Chapra, Aug. 7: Arch enemies turned friends today in a bid to defeat their common foe.

Prabhunath Singh, former Janata Dal (U) MP and upper caste Rajput leader, embraced Lalu Prasad and walked into his Rashtriya Janata Dal.

Prabhunath joining the RJD is believed to be a “masterstroke” of Lalu Prasad — a past master in caste politics — to win over the militant upper caste which was hostile to the RJD boss and voted for the Nitish Kumar-led alliance in the 2005 Assembly polls and 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Prabhunath, though a “don-cum-politician” who faces numerous cases, including murder, is believed to command a sizeable following among Rajputs in the entire north Bihar’s Saran region comprising Chapra, Siwan and Gopalganj.

Moreover, it is a big moral booster to the RJD, which was smarting under the loss of its Muslim leader Taslimuddin to the JD(U). “I will go all out to ensure help to Lalu Prasad in getting Nitish raj out from the state. Nitish’s rule has become synonymous with corruption, political dishonesty and crime,” Prabhunath, who has himself been party to several incidents of crime, remarked.

But it was soothing to the ears of the embattled RJD chief, who is on a “mission” to win over the upper castes, mainly the militant Rajputs from Nitish’s camp.

In fact, Prabhunath fell out with Nitish after the latter introduced reservation for the extremely backward classes (EBCs) at the panchayat and local bodies elections and sent George Fernandes to the Rajya Sabha. Prabhunath wanted Nitish to send him to the Rajya Sabha after he marginally lost the Maharajganj seat in neighbouring Chapra in 2009.

Prabhunath, in the company of another estranged JD(U) leader, Lallan Singh, formed Kisan Mahapanchayat, initiating a war against the Nitish regime.

Today, he has joined the RJD in apparent bid to combine the Yadavs and Rajputs who constitute a formidable combination in the Saran region.

Lalu Prasad, depleted in his backward class vote bank, of late, has been talking of giving 10 per cent reservation in government jobs and political bodies to the “poor among upper castes”.

Supporting Lalu, Prabhunath announced: “We will go for giving 10 per cent reservation to the upper castes if Lalu Prasad replaces Nitish Kumar.”

Amid cheers, Lalu responded, “Prabhunath bhai and I will establish social harmony. There will be no differentiation on the basis of caste if we came to power.”