The grand merger of six Janata Parivar parties may take some more time; the one leader who seems to get a big advantage of the move is lalu Prasad. Sidelined and politically isolated in Bihar following the 2010 Assembly election and 2009 and 2014 lok Sabha elections defeat as well as conviction by the Ranchi CBI court, the RJD supremo has almost got a new lease of life thanks to JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar who played a leading role in engineering the grand alliance and now the proposed merger. And, the focus has suddenly shifted to the former Chief Minister who has been convicted in one of the fodder scam cases.
lalu had been finding it hardest to assert his authority following series of debacles of his party RJD and had lost his charm, influence and popularity even in own painstakingly created electoral constituency. His wit and humour, through which he had created a niche in the national politics, lost the much needed impact in attracting the crowd and converting his famous MY (Muslims-Yadav) support base into votes.
But now in the New Year, lalu's fortunes are seemingly taking a positive shape. The leaders of other Janata Parivar parties, who have declared in principle that Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav will be the leader of the new formation, are not only listening but obeying lalu's wishes. The RJD boss made light of the statement of JD(U) president Sharad Yadav by saying, "Sharad ji ki baat samajhne mein 100 saal lagega. (one needs 100 years to understand Sharad's talks)."
"lalu has emerged as a dominating leader after the alliance. He wants merger on his conditions. Nitish and other JD(U) leaders are readily playing second fiddle to him," said senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Thursday.
When lalu hosted the Makar Sankranti feast on Wednesday, the JD(U) Ministers and legislators vied each other to meet lalu. Even Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi preferred to visit lalu first and then attend the feast hosted by State JD(U) president Bashistha Narain Singh. In view of the huge crowd on Wednesday, lalu hosted yet another feast on Thursday though exclusively for the Muslims.
lalu said merger was a serious process and could not be finalised through media. "Merger should be in such a manner that the parties should not disintegrate again. We are not in a haste. Harbar ka kaam garbar hota hai," he said.
Modi, however, said there are many ifs and buts in the merger and there is much problem in the JD(U). He claimed that majority of the JD(U) legislators are not in favour of merger and they pose as spoilsport. "The differences between Nitish and Manjhi are only growing. Nitish is ill but Manjhi did not even phone him to inquire about his heath even though lalu visited Nitish. The Cabinet and the bureaucracy are divided in two groups, one supporting Manjhi and the other favouring Nitish," said former deputy CM Modi.
Asked what will be the role of BJP if attempts are made to remove Manjhi, he said, "Our suggestion is that Manjhi should recommend dissolution of the Assembly and remain as caretaker CM. Our options are open but we do not want President’s rule in Bihar."
Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Dr C P Thakur said his party would welcome Manjhi if he desires to join the BJP. BJP MP Ashwini Kumar Chaubey said no adhesive will work to unite the parties.