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Patna, June 15: The RJD’s Mahadalit face, Shyam Rajak, and another leader Nihora Yadav formally joined the JD(U) today in presence of chief minister Nitish Kumar, signalling a quick erosion of the RJD influence within the Dalit community in Bihar.
“Leaders from other parties are preferring to join us, because we are working for all sections of the society and not for a caste alone. That leaders from other parties are preferring to join us, is an indication of JD(U)’s popularity, both among the public and the politicians,” said the chief minister.
Welcoming both leaders, Nitish Kumar said he would give them opportunity to work for justice in the lowest strata of the society. Shyam Rajak, who was the right-hand man of Lalu Prasad till a couple of days ago, said: “The Dalit leaders had started to feel neglected in the RJD fold. Of late, disregard for the Dalits had grown.”
Rajak added that he had drawn Lalu Prasad’s attention towards consequences that the party was likely to face if it continued to neglect the Dalits. “But, the RJD boss did not listen.”
“I do not hesitate to accept the fact that Lalu Prasad groomed me before i jumped into politics,” he said, adding that the caucus around him was proving to be detrimental for the party (RJD).
Rajak’s departure from the RJD to the JD(U) before by-election of 18 Assembly seats (scheduled to take place after an EC notification), is being seen as a development that will not allow the embattled RJD boss to get out of the quagmire he has fallen into after his party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha polls. In fact, Lalu Prasad and ally Ram Vilas Paswan are falling short of friends.
Despite the two expressing their regret for having left the Congress company during polls and despite them agreeing to contest in alliance with the Congress henceforth, the Congress has steadfastly asserted that it would contest on its own in the coming polls.
Senior Congress leader and AICC spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad yesterday said: “The Congress will fight the battle alone in the 2010 Assembly polls in Bihar.”
