Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi may be busy drawing long time political chart for party’s fortune but here in Bihar its RJD boss lalu Prasad Yadav who is apparently charting electoral course for Congress candidates for 2014 lok Sabha polls.
lalu Prasad not only managed to confine the Congress party to just 12 seats but has also ensured tickets to at least four party candidates from his own flock.
The latest example is the selection of former Bihar police chief Ashish Ranjan Sinha, who joined the RJD after retirement hoping to get party ticket for Nalanda lS seat, but when it fell into Congress’ kitty lalu Prasad not only made Ashish Ranjan Sinha join the Congress last Tuesday but also ensured his ticket for Nalanda seat.
The ex-cop quit the RJD to join the Congress within 12 hours and got the ticket for lok Sabha polls from Nalanda. The former Bihar police chief is a Kurmi by caste and comes from Kurmi-dominated Nalanda constituency which is also the home constituency of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Ashish Ranjan Sinha was known for his close proximity with lalu Prasad Yadav for long.
The ruling party JD (U) has put its sitting MP Kaushlendra Kumar whereas the lJP has fielded party leader Satyananad Sharma as an NDA candidate from Nalanda.
“It’s all with the blessings of lalu Prasad that Sinha got the Congress ticket within 12 hours of joining the party from Nalanda. lalu Prasad, in fact, is Congress president in Bihar”, said a State Congress leader who was not in favour of the Congress’s poll alliance with the RJD.
Similarly, Purnamasi Ram, who also joined the RJD recently after quitting JD (U) got the Congress ticket from Valmikinagar constituency. Purnamasi had won the 2009 Parliamentary polls from Gopalganj reserved seat on JD(U) ticket but later came to lalu Prasad Yadav’s flock to get the ticket.
Party sources told The Pioneer that, when Gopalganj seat went to the Congress under alliance and the party fielded Dilip Manjhi as its party candidate, lalu Prasad managed to get the Congress ticket for Purnamasi Ram from his home town Valmikinagar.
“It’s ironical that the Congress, which had been claiming to contest from all the 40 seats in Bihar, could not find a party candidate for the Valmikinagar constituency and finally succumbed to lalu Prasad’s choice of candidate”, rued another State Congress leader Umakant Singh.
It is said that lalu Prasad was also instrumental in putting his candidates on two other seats. “Out of the total 12 seats lalu Prasad had left for Congress he ensured tickets for his own nominees on at least four seats”, said a State Congress leader.
Earlier the reports said that the Congress wanted altogether 15 seats from lalu Prasad which would have maintained sufficient distance between the two parties for sometime before they ultimately agreed on 12 “and, that too on lalu’s choice”.
It is also said that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was not in favour of this poll alliance with a ‘convicted’ leader like lalu but some of his party’s senior leaders from Bihar finally brokered truce and the alliance struck between them.
Significantly, when the Congress party finalised name of Nikhil Kumar for Aurangabad seat, he preferred to come down to Patna and had a meeting with lalu Prasad before resigning from his post of Kerala Governor. Party insiders told The Pioneer that once Nikhil Kumar got the assurance from lalu Prasad he agreed to contest the polls.
Similarly, when the Congress leader and lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar was going to file her nomination papers from Sasaram reserved lok Sabha constituency on Wednesday she talked to lalu Prasad and got “all-help” assurance from him.
Meira Kumar is the sitting Congress MP from Sasaram but this time she faces stiff challenge from BJP candidate Chhedi Paswan and JD (U) nominee KP Ramaiaha, a bureaucrat who recently got voluntary retirement to contest the polls. Besides, Meira Kumar’s niece Medhavi Kirti has also jumped into the fray on BSP ticket and while filing her nomination papers on Thursday she traded charges on Miera Kumar for “playing dirty politics with her”.
The poll pundits of the State observed that since lalu Prasad has the capacity to transfer his Yadav caste votes to the Congress candidates in their constituencies have sought his blessings to win the polls.
“There are no big State leaders who can pull the crowd like lalu Prasad from the Congress Party candidates so they are forced to rely heavily on him to get through the polls”, observed Ajay Kumar.
Party sources, however, said that both lalu Prasad and Rahul Gandhi would not be sharing dais, during the poll campaign in Bihar, for reasons best known to all. “Rahul doesn’t want to be seen with a convicted leader like lalu Prasad in order to avoid questions from the Opposition parties. It will dent his all-out effort for a clean and corruption free politics”, said a State Congress leader.