Threat of split hovers over JD

Holed up in his Bihar Niwas suite for most part of the day, Laloo also held discussions with his supporters on the fallout of the High Court notice issued to him in response to a petition filed by P K Samantray, the returning officer appointed by the party’s national executive to hold the presidential elections.

Senior Dal leaders, Planning Commission Chairman Madhu Dandavate, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister S Jaipal Reddy and party ideologue Surendra Mohan, are slated to meet both Laloo Prasad Yadav and Sharad Yadav tomorrow. But the chances of a patch-up appear to be dim. Laloo loyalists said today that the Delhi High Court order restraining him from interfering in the presidential polls had only made matters worse.

Samantray today faxed a point-by-point reply to the show-cause notice served on him yesterday morning by his party chief. “He has not submitted a formal reply yet, but has sent a fax mentioning his side of the story to the irregularities highlighted by me. I am in the process of going through them,” Laloo told The Indian Express this evening.

When asked whether he would go ahead with his decision to hold the presidential elections in Patna, he said: “The matter is sub-judice. Hence I will not offer my comments”. With tomorrow being the last date for withdrawal of nominations, there was considerable trepidation within the JD about the the party’s fate. But the two camps as of now appear to be more intransigent than ever before. Supporters of the Bihar CM scoff at any suggestions of a patch-up. “We can settle for a compromise only if working president Sharad Yadav relents and withdraws from the fray,” said a Lok Sabha member known for his proximity to the Bihar Chief Minister. “As far as Lalooji is concerned, he is not going withdraw his nomination paper, come what may.”

Meanwhile, pressure mounted on the beleaguered Dal president ith Railway Minister and another Dal heavyweight, Ram Vilas Paswan, asking Laloo to step down from office, in the face of allegations against him in the fodder scam. Paswan openly supported Samantray’s decision overruling Laloo’s plan to shift the elections to Patna. He said that Laloo should withdraw his candidature in favour of the party’s working president, Sharad Yadav, to avoid a split in the Dal.

Senior Bihar minister, Vijyendra Yadav, said, “Laloo should change his stubborn approach and pave the way for election of Sharad Yadav unopposed.”The minister, once considered a protege of the Chief Minister, said that Laloo should follow the principle of one-man, one-post and concede the race to Sharad Yadav in the interest of the party.

The Dal’s Rajya Sabha member, R K Yadav Ravi, also a member of the party’s national executive, said that Laloo Yadav should honour the sentiments of the partymen and withdraw his candidature.

Laloo loyalists, however, are continuing with their signature campaign in support of holding national convention at Patna while mobilising efforts to challenge the high court order restraining . Ram Kirpal Yadav, Lok Sabha member and a close associate of Laloo said that the memorandum containing signatures of about 18 MPs had not only supported holding of national council session Patna but also pledged their support to the Janata Dal president for whatever decision he would take.