Laloo may not throw hat in the ring

A top RJD functionary who did not want to be named told The Indian Express yesterday that by making known his intention to contest from Madhepura, Laloo had successfully boosted the morale of the party’s rank and file. "But it is significant that five of the sitting MLAs from Madhepura remain with the Janata Dal and have not joined the RJD," the source pointed out. In other words, Madhepura may not be a cakewalk for Laloo, his public posturing notwithstanding. Madhepura has traditionally been anti-Congress in its outlook and Laloo’s dalliance with that party this time will not endear him to voters there.

It also stands to reason that Laloo may not be overly enthused about becoming a "mere" MP, unless he believes he has a good chance of becoming Prime Minister. In all his 20-plus years in mainstream politics, he has only once been an MP and that too for barely two years, before returning to Bihar politics.

RJD functionaries who spoke to this newspaper said the current line of thinking is that Laloo would serve the party better by being the star campaigner at large rather than be hamstrung by also being a candidate. They believe that since his conventional vote bank among the Yadavs and Muslims have not been affected, he would do well to concentrate on, for example, the Purnea-Katihar region which ignored seven of his handpicked candidates last time around.