Laloo’s bid to hijack party polls

In contrast, Laloo Yadav was all noise and bravado and with characteristic nonchalance, he dropped a bombshell. “It has been decided that the election to the post of party president will be held on June 10 at the SK Memorial Hall in Patna.” This took the gathering by surprise and before they could recover, Laloo added, “I am the party and this is my decision. Where is it written that the election cannot be held at a place other than Delhi.”

“Ek baar kisi raaste pe chal diya to main peeche nahin mudta,” was another refrain. It was precisely the language that the JD has learnt to dread and which Laloo Yadav’s rival was scrupulously avoiding. Sharad Yadav, who himself is not known for tact, has so far chosen to stay cool and go about his business quietly. Soon enough, returning officer P K Samantray said the poll will be held at a place in consultation with JD’s top leaders to ensure “free and fair” election.

Also, Sharad Yadav came with a bigger backing for the election. More than 25 sets of nomination papers were filed on his behalf, from nearly a dozen states, while Laloo had just three sets – all from Bihar.

As of today, Laloo Yadav’s support appears to be from his home state while Sharad Yadav appears to have managed a wider support base. In any case the stakes are far higher for the Bihar Chief Minister. Having been in the forefront of Bihar politics for over seven years now, Laloo will lose much more than just a party election if he goes down on June 10. For Sharad Yadav, this is his first big battle and a victory here would catapult him onto the national stage with a bigger role. Should he lose, he will still be what he is – an MP from Bihar and a perennial candidate for a berth in the Union Council of Ministers in the United Front.

This contrast came through clearly during the day at the JD’s headquarters. Sharad Yadav’s motorcade was small in comparison and he had sundry leaders with him in a show of support. V P Singh’s camp follower Wasim Ahmed was also with Sharad Yadav though he claimed he was aiming for consensus even at this late stage.

However, the battle lines have been clearly drawn and both camps had the choicest abuses for their rivals. From what transpired today, the chances of a reconciliation must be rated dim. And providing comic relief was the filing of papers by T Sivagnanasambandam, a JD member from Tamil Nadu who sent his nomination proposed by 10 members by courier.

Backing Sharad were C M Ibrahim, who was acting on Deve Gowda’s behalf, Rajya Sabha MP Obaidullah Azmi and presidents of 12 State units – Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Haryana and Delhi.

With Laloo were Union Ministers Kanti Singh, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Chandradeo Prasad Verma, MPs Bhagwati Devi, Ram Kripal Yadav, Lal Babu Prasad Yadav, M A Fatmi, Ramdeo Prasad Bhandari, Ranjan Yadav, Nagmani (all from Bihar), Basavaraj Raya Reddy and Qamrul Islam (both from Karnataka) and Som Pal (UP). They were shepherded into the main hall by Sadhu Yadav, Laloo’s brother-in-law.

Modesty from Laloo came late and hardly amounted to much. He sought the help of party workers in the fight against communalism and in the hour of “crisis” facing him. But again, the party was a mere tool for this.