Rejected Laloo gets a second shot at power, UPA gifts him fresh polls again

With the President dissolving the Bihar Assembly on the recommendation of the UPA government, decks have been cleared for fresh polls in the...

With the President dissolving the Bihar Assembly on the recommendation of the UPA government, decks have been cleared for fresh polls in the state. Since the onset of monsoon is just a month away, it’s likely that Bihar will go to polls only around September-October once the weather clears.

Official sources said that though the schedule for fresh polls is still to be discussed with the Election Commission, the June window doesn’t offer much room: it’s too short a period to ready the poll machinery and the huge number of para-military forces who will need to fan out across the state which has a history of violent polls.

Sources pointed out that more than 50,000 para-military personnel, 40,000 state armed policemen and an equal number of home guards had been deployed during the February polls.

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The UPA’s decision to recommend dissolution of the Bihar Assembly was on the basis of two reports sent by Governor Buta Singh.

The first report, submitted on April 25 and also sent to President A P J Abdul Kalam, strongly advocated dissolution of the House to prevent ‘‘horse trading’’ by political parties.

The second report was handed by Buta Singh on May 21 afternoon and was informally discussed by the UPA the same day. Since recommending dissolution required a Cabinet decision, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called his colleagues on Sunday night.

In Moscow, President Kalam was attending a reception, hosted in his honour by Indian Ambassador Kanwal Sibal, when he was told about the bomb blasts in New Delhi. And then came word that the Union Cabinet was meeting in New Delhi to consider dissolution of the Bihar Assembly.

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The President’s press secretary S M Khan, who was with a media team on a bus tour of Moscow, started receiving calls from 9 pm, informing him that there was a possibility that the President may be asked to sign the Bihar notification late in the night.

Around 10 pm, when Kalam had retired to his presidential suite in the Baltschug Kempinski hotel, his secretary, P M Nair informed him that the Prime Minister was on the line. They were said to have had a long talk during which the President was briefed on Buta Singh’s report to the Home Ministry and the decision of the Cabinet.

The Prime Minister, it’s learnt, informed him that the notification could be signed by the President and faxed to Delhi.

Rashtrapati Bhavan officials say that the President, who was busy working on a power point presentation he was to make at the Russian Academy of Science and Moscow University on Monday morning, sat down to examine the Cabinet recommendation and the Governor’s report. He then held consultations with his aides and, by 1.30 am, his consent on the Assembly dissolution was faxed from the Kempinski to New Delhi.

NEXT ACT FOR ALL THE CHARACTERS

		Ram Vilas Paswan/LJP • FOR the moment he looks the big loser. Held the trump card after the Feb election, controlling 29 MLAs, but couldn’t make up his mind or maximise gains. Now he’s the joker in the pack. Story continues below this ad Laloo Yadav/RJD • His ‘‘It’s me or nobody’’ hardline position has paid off. He’ll fight the next election with the Congress firmly in his corner. Wants to win back the Muslims Paswan took away, and will pray the voters don’t remember what they did last winter. Nitish Kumar/NDA • Pipped at the post yet again, can don the victim’s garb. Will have to manage an alliance ranging from BJP saffronites to freelance gunmen cum politicians who were, till the other day, with Paswan Sonia Gandhi/Congress • Has put all her eggs in the Laloo basket, even risked constitutional impropriety. Will fight next election as RJD’s dwarf partner, plans to revive Congress in Bihar take a backseat. Buta Singh/Governor • Will hope the court validates his decision. Under the Bommai judgment it can even revive the House. Will take orders from Laloo and also play a Congress proxy. — Ashok Malik

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