The all important Assembly election in Bihar is still a few months away and poll schedules are yet to be announced but the battle lines seem to have been drawn up already. Not only the political parties and their alliances are busy gearing up but some non-political organisations have also decided to jump into the arena to make or mar the poll prospects of each other.
One such newly-formed social organisation is Mandal Vichar Manch which has decided to ensure defeat of the candidates of the RJD and the JD(U) alliance and work for the nominees of Jana Adhikar Party (JAP) and Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular (HAMS).
The Manch is a brainchild of senior politician and former MP Ranjan Prasad Yadav, who had recently resigned from the JD(U). Yadav held a meeting of the Manch on Sunday which was attended by the representatives from 534 blocks spread over 38 districts in Bihar. Among the prominent leaders present on the occasion were JAP president and MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, former Union Minister and HAMS leader Devendra Prasad Yadav. Both JAM and HAMS have thrown their weight behind the institutive of Ranjan Yadav whose aim is to mobilise the support of OBCs particularly the dominant Yadav caste, Dalits and minorities.
Refusing to join BJP, Ranjan Yadav said the Manch’s policy is that the society would not surrender before any party and fight for justice and its justified demands which they were deprived of during the 15 years rule of lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi and 10 years of Nitish Kumar.
“The meeting decided to spearhead mass contact and awareness campaign in all the 8,500 panchayats across the State to make the people, mostly youths, aware of the real situation and their role in the coming election,” said Yadav.
Pappu Yadav, the Madhepura MP, who was ousted from the RJD by lalu Prasad last month and since then has thrown his weight behind former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, was harsh on his former mentor lalu. “All the prominent Yadavs and those emerging as leaders were murdered during lalu regime and the conspiracy to eliminate them was hatched by his brothers-in-law Sadhu Yadav and Subhash Yadav. “Over 32,000 people were killed during the 15 years of which 25,000 were Yadavs, Dalits and minorities,” alleged Pappu Yadav.
Ranjan Yadav is a sworn enemy of lalu. After his long friendship with RJD supremo which goes back to their student days, Yadav, who also served as working president of the RJD, quit the party. later, he joined the JD(U) and was credited to defeat lalu from Pataliputra lok Sabha constituency in 2009. Now he has resigned from the JD(U) after its decision to ally with lalu’s party.
The formation of many fronts ahead of the Assembly polls with some working on caste lines are likely to make the election tough and bitter. Some parties are also attempting to take political advantage of the arrest of JD(U) strongman Anant Singh and see it as a political conspiracy against the Bhumihar caste. NDA ally Rashtriya lok Samata Party leader Arun Kumar, also belonging to same caste, made some uncharitable casteist remarks against CM Nitish Kumar which was condemned by different camps, including the BJP. “They are using this kind of language to create social hatred,” said Nitish and added that the statement was made at the office of BJP in presence of the party presidents and allies. So it was an official statement.