Lantern dims before his halo

There are no saints or dragons in this battle, only two men who know how to breathe fire George Fernandes and Laloo Prasad Yadav. Neither...

There are no saints or dragons in this battle, only two men who know how to breathe fire George Fernandes and Laloo Prasad Yadav. Neither is known to pull punches, guard his tongue or concede defeat. And this happens to be a prestige battle as the Samata Party leader, fresh from the Kargil victory, is leading an offensive against Laloo8217;s Bihar bastion. The threatened Rashtriya Janata Party RJP supremo is fighting back with all he8217;s got to wrest Fernandes8217;s Nalanda seat but missing the target.

There are few takers for the allegation that Fernandes goofed up in handling the Kargil war. Fewer still for Laloo8217;s diatribe against the Union Defence Minister. The constituency from where Fernandes has been winning for the past four times thinks he has done a great job in taking the country8217;s pride to a new peak. Even the RJD8217;s Nalanda candidate last year, Ram Swaroop Prasad, who had bagged an impressive 3.29 lakh votes is now with Fernandes and is campaigning for him.

For Laloo, the troika of Fernandes, hisSamata colleague Nitish Kumar and Janata Dal United leader Ram Vilas Paswan needs to be defeated at any cost. Having joined hands just before the elections, they have consolidated almost all the Opposition forces in the state and pose a formidable challenge to the RJP. So, even though the RJP itself does not have a candidate in Nalanda and has no working relationship with the CPI, Laloo is pumping in resources as well as manpower to shore up the chances of the latter8217;s candidate, Gaya Singh. Laloo has openly adopted Singh as his candidate and was even present when he filed his nomination.

But Fernandes knows his territory well. And having Paswan who of late has emerged as the leader of the Dalits by his side has only made his position stronger. Dalits comprise 27 per cent of the constituency8217;s population and admit that Laloo is not the messiah they once thought he was. Sure of their support, Paswan boasts: 8220;Once again, George sahib will win this prestigious seat. He has been trying to give a faceliftto the constituency.8221; Kurmi leader Nitish Kumar, for his part, has ensured the support of his community for the JDU-Samata combine. Laloo8217;s decision to back Gaya Singh also seems to have backfired. The Bhumihars which the RJP supremo must have been eyeing are solidly behind Fernandes too.

Last time, the Samata leader had bagged 51 per cent of the valid votes polled. If he gets the votes of Dalits, Kurmis as well as Bhumihars 8212; all three have been at the other end of the stick in the Laloo regime 8212; Fernandes may well increase his share.

In the past, the constituency has been known to favour Left parties, but Fernandes has overpowered everything now. He appeals to the people both as an 8220;anti-Establishment8221; person and as a man who can get things done. Some development projects that he recently launched in Nalanda have further boosted his support base.

Besides, there is the Vajpayee factor. For Nalanda, Fernandes represents Atal Behari Vajpayee, who they want to see as prime minister again. The BJP8217;scampaign line of 8220;one vote having felled the government8221; has hit home here and the people are determined to ensure that 8220;Atalji8221; gets more seats this time.

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To complete the disaster picture for Laloo, even Muslims and Yadavs of his MY brigade seem to nourish a soft spot for Fernandes. Several Muslims in Biharsharif, Rajgir and other villages criticise Laloo8217;s charge that Fernandes has become a BJP agent. Sheikh Mubarak of Biharsharif, which has seen caste riots in the past, seals the RJP8217;s case. Rubbishing Laloo8217;s allegation, he says: 8220;On the contrary, it is due to Fernandes that the BJP has changed its policy. He is so powerful, he can dictate his terms.8221; Once, Laloo could have claimed the same.