Post polls, Lalu & Paswan live to fight desertions
These are uneasy times for RJD chief Lalu Prasad who after being humbled at hustings is now facing desertion from his own camp.
By Ashok K Mishra, ET Bureau |
PATNA: These are uneasy times for RJD chief Lalu Prasad who after being humbled at the hustings is now facing desertion from his own camp. The out-migration from the party has already started and a beleaguered Lalu may find it exceedingly difficult to keep his flock together.
The LJP, which faced a complete rout in the Lok Sabha elections, is also having to contend with its own set of problems caused by the desertions by its leaders.
A number of RJD leaders had broken free from the party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, some of them switching their loyalty to JD(U) and BJP while some others, including Sadhu Yadav and senior party MLA Ramai Ram, jumping into the Congress bandwagon. Among the other prominent RJD leaders who quit the party to join the ruling JD(U) included Mahabali Singh, Mangni Lal Mandal, Vijay Krishna, Nemtullah and Ganesh Prasad Yadav.
From LJP, some of the known names like Gulam Rasool Baliyavi and Maheshwar Hazari also went on to join JD(U). Now that the elections are over, it was widely presumed that the: 'Aaya Ram-Gaya Ram story' would take a back seat but that surprisingly has not been the case. The desertion blues continue to rattle RJD and its ally LJP and this is indeed a cause of concern for both Mr Prasad and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan.
If a very senior RJD leader of RJD Upendra Prasad Verma, who held on to his ministerial position for 15 long years in the Rabri-lalu government, joined JD(U) after the elections, another prominent leader and a Lalu loyalist Bhim Singh too followed suit.
LJP also suffered a major blow when party MLC Sanajy Singh and a staunch Paswan supporter join JD(U). Clearly, the unimpressive performance of the RJD-LJP combine in the Lok Sabha elections has created a sense of political anxiety particularly among their leaders over their poll prospects in the 2010 assembly elections. If sources are to believed a number of legislators from both RJD and LJP are already in touch with the JD(U) leadership so that they can cross over at an opportune time.
"Things are really bad in our party. If immediate corrective measures are not taken, the party may slip further deep into the rut. The situation is far serious and some hard decisions are surely called for," admitted a senior RJD leader.
The LJP, which faced a complete rout in the Lok Sabha elections, is also having to contend with its own set of problems caused by the desertions by its leaders.
A number of RJD leaders had broken free from the party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, some of them switching their loyalty to JD(U) and BJP while some others, including Sadhu Yadav and senior party MLA Ramai Ram, jumping into the Congress bandwagon. Among the other prominent RJD leaders who quit the party to join the ruling JD(U) included Mahabali Singh, Mangni Lal Mandal, Vijay Krishna, Nemtullah and Ganesh Prasad Yadav.
From LJP, some of the known names like Gulam Rasool Baliyavi and Maheshwar Hazari also went on to join JD(U). Now that the elections are over, it was widely presumed that the: 'Aaya Ram-Gaya Ram story' would take a back seat but that surprisingly has not been the case. The desertion blues continue to rattle RJD and its ally LJP and this is indeed a cause of concern for both Mr Prasad and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan.
If a very senior RJD leader of RJD Upendra Prasad Verma, who held on to his ministerial position for 15 long years in the Rabri-lalu government, joined JD(U) after the elections, another prominent leader and a Lalu loyalist Bhim Singh too followed suit.
LJP also suffered a major blow when party MLC Sanajy Singh and a staunch Paswan supporter join JD(U). Clearly, the unimpressive performance of the RJD-LJP combine in the Lok Sabha elections has created a sense of political anxiety particularly among their leaders over their poll prospects in the 2010 assembly elections. If sources are to believed a number of legislators from both RJD and LJP are already in touch with the JD(U) leadership so that they can cross over at an opportune time.
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"Things are really bad in our party. If immediate corrective measures are not taken, the party may slip further deep into the rut. The situation is far serious and some hard decisions are surely called for," admitted a senior RJD leader.
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