Samata threatens RJD’s future

While the RJD succeeded in capturing a sizeable number of seats from North Bihar, the BJP-Samata combine romped home in South Central Bihar, dividing the State on political lines.

Significantly, South Bihar, where the Congress concentrated this time with Sonia Gandhi addressing at least five major rallies, returned BJP nominees.

While BJP lost three seats, Nawada, Motihari and Chapra, to RJD it snatched two seats, Bhagalpur and Gaya, from it. It lost two seats to Congress, but gained one each from JMM, JD, Samajwadi Party and Congress. The major gain for the party has been Dumka which the party snatched from JMMleader Shibu Soren.

In fact, the emergence of Samata Party with 10 seats is a major source of consternation for the RJD. Samata has also won at least four seats in North Bihar. This has strengthened the perception that Samata is the only outfit which can match the caste equations and manpower of RJD. Even in places where Yadavs had rallied behind RJD, Samata could win seats.

Laloo Prasad Yadav, on his part, scraped through with a margin of 51,000 from Madhepura, defeating his bete noire Sharad Yadav of JD. Nearly 329 booths had gone to repoll in this constituency. JD leader Ganesh Yadav alleged that it was large scale booth capturing and rigging by RJD supporters helped by government officials, that resulted in Sharad’s defeat. Both leaders had locked horns here, for retaining their status of being "leader of Yadavs".

In 1996, the undivided JD under the leadership of Laloo Prasad had won 22 seats, but after the split in the party, 16 MPs remained with Laloo Prasad. Significantly, Samata has wrested atleast six seats from RJD this time. It defeated at least two former Central ministers Chandra Deo Verma and Kanti Singh of the RJD.