Laloo’s front yet to take shape

NEW DELHI, January 3: In keeping with his efforts to forge a broad anti-Bharatiya Janata Party, non-United Front for the ensuing mid-term po...

NEW DELHI, January 3: In keeping with his efforts to forge a broad anti-Bharatiya Janata Party, non-United Front for the ensuing mid-term poll, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav today met Rashtriya Janata Party president and former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela. Laloo described his talks with Vaghela as "positive", but refused to divulge its details. The two leaders had another round of meeting later in the day at former prime minister Chandra Shekhar’s official residence, where they were joined in by Bharatiya Kisan Kamgar Party chief Ajit Singh and Sudhir Goyal, a representative of BSP supremo Kanshi Ram.

The meeting, described as "routine" by sources close to Laloo, focussed on the modalities of the proposed front. But in the absence of the BSP chief, nothing concrete emerged from it.

Kanshi Ram, on his part, went a step ahead and declared at Ahmedabad today that a new national front, comprising, besides the BSP, the RJD, JMM (Shibu Soren faction) and some other parties, would be launched on January 5. "The new front, aimed at restricting BJP’s strength, would not only seek Congress support, but also offer help to it in an attempt to share power with it," he told reporters in the Gujarat capital.

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But, with Kanshi Ram’s trusted aide Mayawati still adopting a rigid posture on the issue of seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh, other leaders of the proposed front were not so optimistic. Laloo, when contacted, remarked: Abhi baatcheet chal rahi hai (Talks are still going on)."

"Without discussing the distribution of seats in UP, how can we launch the front?" asked a senior leader.

These leaders were also sore with Kanshi Ram for unilateral announcement on his tie-up in Haryana with Om Prakash Chautalka’s Lok Dal (Rashtriya).A senior RJD leader told The Indian Express that it was, in fact, BSP’s attitude which had become a stumbling block in the proposed front.