Lalu attacks Cong for Babri,here is why

The Congress is going alone,contesting 37 of the 40 seats in the state. Muslim votes will play a pivotal role during the second and third phases of polling as Darbhanga,Madhubani,Purnea,Kishanganj and Araria go to the polls. Just as the campaigning began,Lalu had raised a storm by declaring at a meeting in the Muslim-majority Kishanganj district that he would have run a roller over BJP leader Varun Gandhi for his statement against Muslims. Thereafter,he had gone around reminding the Muslims as to how he and Mulayam had protected them from the saffron onslaught.

Lalus fears can be read in faraway Bettiah,the district headquarters of West Champaran district,from where his estranged brother-in-law Sadhu Yadav is contesting on a Congress ticket. Inside Kedar Ashram,the district headquarters of the party,80-year-old Bharat Dwivedi had turned up to meet Sadhu. He was joined by many other dedicated Congressmen who had come out of their self imposed exile after long years,excited about the prospect of a Congress revival in the state.

I had the opportunity to listen to Mahatma Gandhi in Champaran. Today I have come to listen to Sadhu Yadav. Its sad but I am happy that Sadhu has infused a new life into the party and the Congress culture would reform him, Dwivedi said.

After piggy-backing Lalu Prasad Yadavs party for over a decade,the sudden decision of the party high command to go alone and contest 37 of the 40 seats in Bihar has excited most Congressmen in the state and jolted them into action.

Congress offices from Patna to Bettiah that wore a deserted look till recently are buzzing with activity. The Congress,in fact,is not just creating buzz,its candidates like Sadhu Yadav have made the contest triangular and are also in the reckoning in some half-a-dozen seats. In the West Champaran Lok Sabha seat,Sadhu,despite being disowned by Lalu-Rabri,is swaying the Yadav voters and has made the going difficult for LJPs filmmaker candidate Prakash Jha.

The RJD rebel is hopeful that with the Yadavs behind him,the Muslims would also rally behind him as he would emerge as a potential candidate to defeat the BJP nominee. The Congress had last contested this seat in 1999 when it was humiliated polling just over 600 votes. The Congress does not have candidates so what is wrong in fielding Sadhu Yadav? At least,he will become an agent for the partys revival, said Vijay Mohan Mishra,a Congress leader.

For Congress leaders,the revival of the party is overriding the harm it is extending to UPA allies. The party is tactically using the Lok Sabha election to prepare for the assembly polls next year. We are hopeful of winning more than three seats we had last time. But even in the worst scenario,it will increase our vote share by a big margin and during the assembly polls next year we will be back in the reckoning, said Raghuvar Jha,in-charge of the partys election control room in Patna.

More than the image of the party,the Congress is using the potential of the individual candidatesa number of them RJD rebels to get back on its feet in the state. If it is Sadhu Yadav in the Champaran region,then it is Pappu Yadavconvicted for the murder of a CPI(M) MLAin the Kosi segment. Though the Congress has refused to accept Pappu Yadav in the party,his LJP MP wife Ranjeet Ranjan is the Congress candidate from Supaul and mother Shati Priya from Purnea. Pappu is known for wielding influence in the Kosi region and here again the Congress would hit the RJD-LJP dearly.

The Congress leadership here is optimistic that during the assembly polls next year,upper-caste voters of the state would return to the party as they are uncomfortable with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and cannot forgive Lalu for his tirade against them in the past. Nitish Kuars fixation for the EBCs and Maha Dalits is not going down well with the upper castes and they are looking for an option. By parting ways with Lalu,the Congress will provide this option and once the upper castes come,Muslims too will return, said a senior party leader