Ranchi, Sept. 27: Former state Janata Dal (United) chief Gautam Sagar Rana today switched over to his erstwhile party Rashtriya Janata Dal in the presence of railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav.

Rana, earlier the chief of the RJD youth wing, defected to JD(U) in 2000 just ahead of the Bihar Assembly election.

After the formation of Jharkhand the same year, Rana was elevated to the post of the chairman of the ruling NDA coordination committee. In 2003, Rana was made the state JD(U) chief, following a merger of the Samata Party and JD(U). However, late last month, Rana quit as the JD(U) chief, alleging gross negligence by the party top brass.

Rana?s formal induction is only the beginning of an influx of JD-U party workers into the RJD, said sources.

At least five JD(U) legislators would follow suit next year, ahead of the Assembly poll, they said.

But the shift in the political equations has RJD workers, especially those eyeing tickets for the Assembly election, worried.

Party insiders told The Telegraph that with many more disgruntled JD(U) leaders interested to switch loyalties, the present crop of RJD cadre are feeling threatened. However, they have chosen to remain silent fearing the wrath of party chief Laloo Prasad Yadav.

Most workers privately agreed that JD-U leaders would make little difference to the poll prospects of the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance. A senior RJD leader said none of the JD(U) MLAs or its leaders had any standing in the public, which could tilt votes in the party?s favour.

?We do not need the JD(U) men to help us win the next elections. Minority and backward votes are already in our kitty. Our alliance with the Congress and the JMM would pool in tribal votes. Results of the Assembly poll are a foregone conclusion,? he said.

Vice-president of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee R.L. Bhatia, however, cautioned Laloo Prasad against welcoming former allies of the BJP.