They might share a life long association with him, but the bulk of George Fernandes loyalists spread over the country, have chosen to stay back in Janata Dal(U) instead of joining hands with Jaya Jaitly and Shiv Kumar to revive the Samata Party.Even those who had rallied round Fernandes in Patna in the aftermath of his defeat in the JD(U) presidential election and boycotted the plenary session last April, are not headed for the Samata.For example, former MP Arun Kumar, who had quit JD(U) to contest against the official candidate in Nalanda Lok Sabha by-election—caused by the resignation of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has steered clear of the Samata. So has Rajya Sabha member Basishth Narain Singh, who had retained his Samata Party tag when the party merged with JD(U). Though out in the political wilderness, both Kumar and Singh are wary of the Samata.Fernandes commanded the loyalty of state presidents of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Mumbai and Uttarakhand. Anticipating their participation in the meeting convened by Fernandes’ supporters, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav had removed Gujarat unit chief Pravinsinh Jadeja and Uttarakhand president Anurag Kumar in advance. They did show up at the convention, but Maharashtra JD(U) president Ranga Rajure and Mumbai president Clifford Martis stayed away.National executive member Ranjit Bhanu too showed no interest in the rebel show. Bhanu, known for his proximity to Fernandes, is a key functionary in the New India Cooperative Bank, founded by the former defence minister for members of trade unions in 1968. The names of two national executive members, Irshad Ahmed (Bihar) and B K Tewari (Delhi), had figured in the reception committee for the January 21 meet, but both developed cold feet and disassociated themselves at the eleventh hour.“Our names were included in the committee without our consent,” both maintained, while Shiv Kumar argued that he “would have never done so without their concurrence”. He said both leaders had participated in a meeting held here on January 5, where the decision to hold the contention was taken, but obviously changed their mind later.Trade union leader Jagdish Deshpande too has not associated himself with the Samata. Nor have his old loyalists Fatesh Singh Chauhan (Dadra and Nagar Haveli) and O Lohri (Manipur). They headed the pre-2003 Samata in their states. K K Tripathi, UP JD(U) general secretary, who invariably accompanies Fernandes during his state tours, has stayed put in the party.Sources in the JD(U) say these leaders have not switched their loyalty. They remain behind Fernandes and want him to challenge Nitish-Sharad combine from within the JD(U).
