The NCP today put a spanner in the works of RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav, who is lobbying for the ouster of LJP leader and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan from the UPA government if he refuses to join the UPA front to defeat NDA in the Bihar Assembly polls.NCP general secretary Tariq Anwar said “It will not be proper to say he (Paswan) should quit’’ the Manmohan Singh Government if he contests the polls separately “because of local compulsions.”After enlisting the support of CPI(M) politburo member Sitaram Yechury in his drive, Laloo had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi this week to build pressure for Paswan’s ouster from the Cabinet.NCP is set to create more difficulties for Laloo. ‘‘We feel nobody should be projected as the chief ministerial candidate in advance. If the alliance wins a majority, all the parties can sit together and decide the CM,’’ Anwar said.‘‘Paswanji’s main objection is to the projection of Rabri Devi as the CM,’’ he said, adding, ‘‘I also think so.’’Even the Congress thinks likewise. ‘‘We also favour the choice of the chief minister after polls,’’ Congress general secretary Ambika Soni said later. She explained that the Congress never projects anybody as chief minister before results.Since each party has its own programme, the Congress and NCP do not mind the LJP poll-plank of the Muslim CM. Congress pointman Digvijay Singh and NCP CM have both agreed to work together to rope in Paswan.
