RANCHI, FEB 5: A fortnight after Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi addressed an election rally in this town, the Congress had another star speaker rooting its cause today: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Laloo Prasad Yadav.Sharing the dais with Congress Rajya Sabha MP Gyanranjan, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha vice-president Suraj Mandal, Jharkhand Congress Committee general secretary PN Singh and half-a-dozen other Congress leaders, Laloo exhorted the 20,000-plus audience to vote for the Congress candidate from Ranchi, Keshav Mahto Kamlesh.This was the first joint rally held by the Congress and the RJD in these elections. According to Laloo, the new-found alliance of the two parties was a ``historical necessity'' to check ``the communal forces''. In Ranchi at least, the two could do with all the votes they can get. Since 1991, BJP candidate Ramtahal Chaudhury has never lost from here. In the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, he had trounced Kamlesh by over 40,000 votes. The Janata Dal candidate, UN Chaudhary, had trailedin third.This time, neither the JD nor the RJD has put up a candidate in Ranchi. Even the JMM, which has fielded Bahadur Singh, has decided to extend support to Congress nominee Kamlesh.The crowd at today's rally comprised mostly Muslims, who had come from different areas within a six km radius to the Jaipal Singh Stadium venue. And they seemed to be listening to Laloo with rapt attention.Muslims number around 80,000 in a total electorate of 7.5 lakh in this constituency. Besides, there are around 60,000 Christians and some 2.5 lakh Kurmi-Mahtos and tribals. With Sonia campaigning, the Christians, who have traditionally voted for the party are expected to return. However, Kamlesh's nomination from the seat has caused much heartburn among many partymen, particularly the supporters of All India Congress Committee member and former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay.
