The glee in the Congress camp over the BJP’s self-destruction mode was short-lived as two of its key allies — Lalu Prasad’s RJD and Ram Vilas Paswan’s LJP — ganged up against it.
The glee in the Congress camp over the BJP’s self-destructive mode was short-lived as two of its key allies — Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal and Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janashakti Party — ganged up against it, leaving it crumbs in Bihar.
Of the state’s 40 Lok Sabha seats, the RJD took the lion’s share of 25, gave 12 to the LJP, and left just three for the Congress.
But not all’s well in the Lalu camp either. Prasad’s brother-in-law Sadhu Yadav declared his intention of contesting on a Congress card after he accused Prasad of selling the Bettiah constituency ticket to filmmaker Prakash Jha.
Announcing the seat-sharing formula on Tuesday, Prasad said: “In keeping with the Congress’s strength (in Bihar), we have decided to leave three seats for it.” The Congress, upset at the raw deal, has threatened to put its candidates in at least 20 constituencies. At stake is not only the UPA’s unity, but also the special relationship that Prasad has enjoyed with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. In the past, the RJD leader had supported her during the debate on her foreign origin and she had reciprocated by ignoring her party’s advice and tying up with the RJD in Bihar.
Later in the evening, Yadav called on Sushil Kumar Shinde, the head of the Congress’s screening committee for Bihar. Yadav has been keen on contesting from Bettiah after his Gopalganj seat became reserved after delimitation.
Commenting on the day’s developments, Prasad said: “The Congress should not be complaining. After all, my brother-in-law too has been left out.”
For the past few days, the
Congress, RJD and LJP were locked in hard bargaining over Bihar’s seats.
n Cong seeks more seats p20
Cong seeks more seats in Bihar from Lalu
Congress is miffed at the Lalu Prasad’s RDJ and Ramvilas Paswan’s LJP for leaving only three seats for the party in Bihar.
“We supported him during times when everybody else had deserted him. And this is how he has repaid us!” said Iqbal Singh, AICC secretary in charge of Bihar, angrily.
Senior Congress leaders, however, were circumspect as back channel contacts were activated to retrieve the situation.
Possibilities being worked out include both the LJP and RJD having to leave a seat each for the Congress or the RJD having to part with two seats from its share. “The last has not been heard on this issue,” said an RJD leader close to Yadav. “Eventually, things will be resolved.”
Jaitley again skips meet
Rajesh Sinha. New Delhi
Unrest in the BJP continued to spread on Tuesday with party general secretary Arun Jaitley again skipping a crucial meeting of its central election committee. On another front, a criminal case was filed on Election Commission orders against Gandhi scion and BJP candidate from Pilibhit Varun Gandhi over a virulently communal speech he delivered at the constituency a few days ago.
With Jaitley skipping the meet, the rift within the party is out in the open with its second rung leaders seemingly engaged in a war of succession rather than ensuring victory for the BJP and its prime ministerial candidate LK Advani. The revolt by party strategist and chief campaign manager Jaitley — a reasonable, sophisticated person not given to irrational or whimsical behaviour — against party chief Rajnath Singh has the BJP divided and workers demoralised. The string of bad news for the party includes its old-time Orissa ally, the BJD, parting ways and reports of rift in Karnataka.
But what worries party workers the most is the impression of Advani’s waning authority. A BJP leader said Jaitley had made clear to Advani his objection over Rajnath Singh appointing Sudhanshu Mittal as election co-convener of the North-East the day after the decision was taken. But Advani, the leader said, sat over the matter till the issue was out in the open. But it would have been difficult for Advani to make Singh revoke the appointment.
Jaitley choosing to stand his ground is being seen as an attempt by him to pit himself for the post of party president. Also, his reservations about certain poll managers and candidates will ensure that he is not blamed if things go wrong for the party.
Jaitley not happy with Swaraj too
BJP’s chief campaign manager Arun Jaitley didn’t turn up for another meeting of the party, making the rift in the party evident.
Besides Sudhanshu Mittal’s appointment as co-manager, some see his protest to be directed against another rival, Sushma Swaraj.
Mittal has been carrying out the Northeast operations under the supervision of Swaraj, who is in charge of elections in three states and a key campaigner. If she wins the poll from Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, she would reinforce the impression of her being a popular leader who can contest from anywhere in the country and win or, at least, give a good fight, as is proven by her performance against
Sonia Gandhi in Bellary, Karnataka, during the 2004 polls.
Jaitley’s gambit has invited criticism from many in the party and also the RSS, which has been trying to straighten things out in the saffron party.
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