The campaign for the second phase of the Bihar election was to end in a few minutes. But Laloo Prasad Yadav was lost midair. His pilots, guided by misleading markings on the map provided by RJD poll managers, were unable to identify the location of the final meeting in Sarairanjan, Samastipur. Laloo was losing his cool: ‘‘Hey, turn left . turn right . arre not there .’’ What the moment needed was levelheaded thinking. It was not coming. Over a dozen meetings across five of 11 districts in the second phase of polls: Laloo had set out on a whirlwind trip yesterday, to consolidate his twin constituencies—promising renewed empowerment for OBCs/Yadavs and security for Muslims. Yet public feeling for his politics seemed more dormant than at any stage in the past 15 years. The dream merchant needed to touch the ground; but he was dangling in the air, as time was running out. ‘‘All these areas are now with me,’’ he said, waving to the unending tracts of marshland below, covering Bhagalpur, Purnea, Khagaria, Samastipur and Patna. The day had begun at 9, cordial and pleasant. ‘‘I am seeing a wave similar to 1995,’’ he had said, referring to the landslide victory a decade ago. ‘‘Poor people of Bihar know only one leader—Laloo Yadav. Who is Nitish? He is a mere mascot of the upper-caste hegemony.’’ Then he murmured to the image of a southern deity, pulled out from his pocket. ‘‘I have offered a puja there for navagrahas,’’ he explained. Suddenly he lost interest, reached for a banana, and then dozed off. After the first meeting at Pirpaiti, the bravado was back: ‘‘Saw my support?’’ Yes, but where was his old aggression, his surefootedness? At the second meeting in Rupauli, it came into display. ‘‘Break the barricade,’’ he told the crowd, inviting them closer, snubbing policemen as the throng cheered. ‘‘I have given you the power to demand and get your right . It is Laloo who has given you your due . Now the BJP wants to steal the power .’’ The crowd was electrified. This seemed a more receptive constituency than some others. The next meeting on, he slid into a ritualistic tone—his victory was a necessity, an axiom you had to accept. People protested in hushed tones. At Zafarabad, Raghopur, where Rabri Devi is contesting, Yadav voters complained they had got nothing under Laloo raj. But the environs looked impressive—a community centre, a good school building. ‘‘But what do we do with the community centre?’’ went one local, ‘‘and in the school, there are no teachers.’’ Laloo held three meetings in Raghopur on the final day—an indication of the fight on hand. Over 15 years, Laloo has frittered away some of that old trust and goodwill. The charm and spontaneity are that much more forced this time. The leader looks tired and burdened—by teeming ticket-seekers, troublesome brothers-in-law, a pesky media. But Laloo’s political constituency has not disintegrated. They still gather in large numbers. Nearly half the seats will be decided only in the third and fourth phases. At Sarairanjan, he couldn’t find his people. In the coming phases, will he?
