Oh MY, it’s coming apart!

The Rashtriya Janata Dal chief, Laloo Prasad Yadav, has suddenly taken a fancy to God according to reports, but even the Almighty seems to be deserting him. There seems no end to criminal violence in Bihar and, ipso facto, no end to Laloo’s troubles. While 11 Yadavs were massacred in the northwestern Siwan district over the weekend, another five people, also from the intermediate caste, were killed in Nalanda district in Central Bihar. And guess who were behind these mass murders? Who else but politicians, including one from the ruling party. What better evidence do we need to establish the criminal-politician nexus! While the henchmen of the RJD MP, Mohammed Shahabuddin, allegedly masterminded the Siwan mass murders, those in Nalanda seem to be the handiwork of Akhilesh Singh, husband of an independent MLA. Akhilesh Singh, an upper caste don considered close to the Ranvir Sena, was evidently avenging last year’s killing of 12 Bhumihar caste men in Afsar village of Nawadah district. Shahabuddin, of course, isa notorious name in the world of crime. In the past, he has been allegedly involved in several cases of murder, including that of the JNU students’ union president Chandrasekhar. He is a total terror in the area, one whom even the administration dare not challenge. The only time a SP rank police officer defied him, his official vehicle was riddled with bullets. And, yet, he was one of Laloo Yadav’s most trusted lieutenants.

This time, however, Shahabuddin seems to have bitten off more than he can chew. In a typical attempt to grab a 250-acre mutt, he went ahead on a killing spree gunning down 11 members of the dominant Yadav caste. Incidentally, it is the combination of the Muslims and the Yadavs (M-Y) that constitute Laloo’s votebank. And, unfortunately, for the RJD and Laloo, it is these two communities today who are at loggerheads in Siwan. No doubt, Laloo made a dash for Siwan as soon as he heard of the killings and since he could not meet an evasive Shahabuddin, he even decided to camp there. In a clear case of the chela defying the guru, Shahabuddin, who has become a law unto himself and openly claims that he does not need the RJD supremo’s backing to win elections in the area, has evidently refused to meet Laloo. To add to Laloo’s woes, other Muslim leaders, considered erstwhile stalwarts of the RJD, have also begun to challenge him. Taslimuddin, another RJD leader with a dubious reputation from thenorth-eastern region of the state, has of late openly attacked Laloo’s leadership in the party.

Other than splitting Laloo’s votebanks, the Siwan killings end up damaging his carefully constructed secular credentials, which has already received some knocks in the past two months. The recent violence between the MCC and the private army of Muslim landowners, the Ali Sena in south Bihar and the surfacing of communal problems during Dussehra in Biharsharif town, are clear pointers in that direction. With the fodder scam investigation in full swing, Laloo has been spending sleepless nights for quite some time. And now with his carefully laid out M-Y coalition fraying at the seams, Laloo seems to be in serious trouble.