Why is this man so powerful?

How has a man with neither vote bank nor constituency he has changed his Lok Sabha seat each time, moving from Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh to Bihar become so powerful?

By latching on to powerful leaders and deserting them when their star wanes, say his detractors see box. By tirelessly building up the party organisation, say his admirers.

There is a story about Yadav that illustrates his tenacity and determination to be a power-player. When the Janata Dal was being created in 1987, the key players were Devi Lal, V.P. Singh, Biju Patnaik and Ajit Singh. Yadav, then a Devi Lal confidante, was isolated as his leader and arch rival Ajit Singh decided to bury their differences.

A top secret conclave was held in Panchkula Haryana that only these leaders knew about. But Yadav got wind of it from one of Devi Lal8217;s security men; 8220;he ensures that his mentor is surrounded by people who owe loyalty to him rather than the leader,8221; says an insider.

Though he was not invited, he reportedly drove all night from Delhi and was waiting at Panchkula when the others arrived. Surprised but courteous, Devi Lal asked him to join them 8212; and Yadav succeeded in participating in the historic meeting.

Elected to the Lok Sabha five times and once to the Rajya Sabha, Yadav created history when he won his first election from Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh in 1974. The engineering student leader became one of the youngest MPs then. But it was a landmark for another reason: it marked the first coming together of Opposition parties which fielded him as their candidate against the Congress.

During the Emergency, Yadav resigned his seat and was sent to jail where he shared a cell with a towering figure of the socialist movement: Madhu Limaye. Limaye took Yadav under his wing. In 1977, Yadav was re-elected to the Lok Sabha.

When the Janata Party split, the whole socialist group sided with Charan Singh, who made Yadav the president of the Yuva Lok Dal. It was Charan Singh who really built him up. But when his health started deteriorating, Yadav deserted him for Devi Lal.

During the formation of the Janata Dal until the fall of V.P. Singh8217;s government in which he was textiles minister, he remained a Devi Lal confidante. Until then, Laloo Prasad, who had become Bihar Chief Minister thanks to Yadav8217;s intercession with Devi Lal, had to look to him to get things done in New Delhi Delhi. But when Devi Lal parted ways with V.P. Singh, Yadav switched over to the latter.

8220;Sharad Yadav has excelled in being able to remain on the right side of the powers-that-be. And he has been following a carefully-charted route of organisational positions, so he has been successful in building up a team of his own people throughout the country,8221; says a senior Janata Dal MP, who has seen Yadav8217;s career graph rise.

His latest outburst against Prime Minister I.K. Gujral 8220;Is the PM god?8221;, strident opposition to the Women8217;s Reservation Bill 8220;It will benefit only baal-kati mahilaein short-haired women8221; and demand for a quota for OBC women are seen as part of a carefully-thought-out strategy.

According to political observers, this will earn him the support of the Dalits, a constituency so far dominated by arch rival Railway Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Equally importantly, his performance on the last day of the Parliament session in which he ridiculed and embarrassed Gujral is seen as a calculated move to project himself as a second power centre, a man who can openly challenge the Prime Minister and around whom disgruntled elements in the party can rally.

Taking advantage of Gujral and Laloo Prasad8217;s vulnerability, Yadav is now manoeuvring to coerce both to accept him as party president, say Janata Dal insiders.

8220;He has inched to this position by somehow destroying grassroot leadership at all levels in the Janata Dal. But once he is president, he will work to rejuvenate the party and when the next elections come he will choose the candidates,8221; says a party MP.

Yadav has a solid understanding of the socialist movement as well as backward and caste politics. After years of organisational work and changing allegiances, he is now an established Yadav leader in his own right. The hawala taint was a setback and he missed out on a ministerial berth because of that something that rankles deeply 8212; but with the dilution of the whole issue, he has emerged relatively unscathed.

Now 50, Yadav has exhibited the capacity to wait. Becoming president of the Janata Dal is a long-cherished ambition 8212; and the next few days will reveal whether his patience has paid off.