New Delhi/Patna, June 8: Mulayam Singh Yadav today announced Nitish Kumar would be the chief ministerial face of the "united Janata family" in the Bihar Assembly elections, the declaration triggering cries from the RJD leadership that Lalu Prasad had committed "political hara-kiri".
The announcement at Mulayam's residence was made in the presence of the RJD chief, who seconded the decision and said he was ready to "gulp poison" to defeat the "communal forces" in Bihar. JDU president Sharad Yadav was also present, but Nitish was in Patna busy with his weekly janata darbar.
" Koi bhi zeher peene ke liye taiyaar hoon, sampradayik saktiyon ke phan ko kuchlne ke liye (I am ready to gulp any kind of poison to crush the fangs of the communal forces)," Lalu said, indicating that he had not accepted the choice happily.
Lalu's compulsion was understandable given that till recently he and his party leaders were publicly opposed to Nitish as the face of the elections. Lalu had stated in clear terms that the chief ministerial issue would be taken up post the election, expected in October.
The clue behind Lalu's sudden turnaround lay in Nitish's hour-long meeting with Rahul Gandhi here yesterday, sources said. Nitish discussed an electoral arrangement between the JDU and the Congress with Rahul at the meeting, according to JDU sources. The prime motive was to use the Congress to put pressure on Lalu.
Lalu tried to checkmate Nitish by seeking a meeting with Sonia Gandhi today. His plan failed after 10 Janpath did not give time to him, sources said.
The Congress has been reduced to a marginal force in Bihar but the two Janata leaders want to use the party as a psychological factor to ensure the maximum gravitation of Muslim votes. An independent electoral arrangement between the JDU and the Congress posed the danger of a sharp division in the Muslim votes with the likelihood of a majority share going towards the JDU-Congress combine.
The RJD boss' discomfiture at the turn of events was visible at the news conference today where Mulayam announced Nitish's name. Mulayam offered " vishesh dhanyabad (special thanks)" to Lalu for proposing Nitish's name.
Lalu, however, had a different version. "I had asked Mulayam Singh Yadav to decide and assured him that I will accept his decision since he was our elder leader. He has decided on Nitish and now he will be our chief ministerial candidate," Lalu said.
Lalu's acceptance, however, does not mean an amicable settlement of the ongoing bickering in the Janata family.
"I am in a remote village. Not in Patna or Delhi. I know what the ground realties are," said a senior RJD leader, who did not wish to be named. "Lalu has committed political hara-kiri."
He pointed out that Nitish had been the CM of the state for 10 years. "We have inherited anti-incumbency from him. The contract teachers are angry with Nitish. The home guards are angry with him. So are the other sections of society. Their anger will be directed at us now," the leader remarked.
He also pointed out that till now, the Mahadalits had no issue with the RJD. "But Nitish Kumar made Jitan Ram Manjhi the CM and them removed him. The Mahadalits are very angry with Nitish Kumar and now their anger will be turned against us. This section of voters are now with the BJP," he said.
A key test of the Bihar alliance will be the smoothness, or lack of it, with which seat sharing between Nitish and Lalu proceeds. There is a six-member committee, yet unappointed, instituted for the purpose but nobody seems to have any notion of how it will work or what its terms of reference will be. Or even what the basis for deciding numbers will be.
The JDU will want the 2010 Assembly poll to be the base year as Nitish did very well in those elections and Lalu did poorly. The RJD, on the other hand, is keen that the 2014 Lok Sabha numbers become the basis for their percentage share of the vote was much higher.
Both partners will vie for the lion's share of seats, the battling will be tough, not least because power factions on both sides will be pushing their leaders to draw a larger share of the seat spoils.
These RJD leaders feel that the threat of erosion of the Yadav votes from the RJD was real. "The Yadavs who have been with us despite our continued debacles in polls feel cheated. They are asking why should a man whose caste constitutes only 1.5 per cent of the votes should be made CM with their votes when they constitute 12 per cent of the population. There is nothing to gain and everything to lose from this alliance," he added.
