Patna,(BiharTimes): The home-coming of Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh on the eve of Maharajganj Lok Sabha by-poll and about a year ahead of the scheduled parliamentary election in the country is being given much significant in the political circle in Bihar.

Bringing back a Bhumihar leader in the party fold when another casteman, Prashant Kumar Shahi, is fighting a tough battle with Rajput strongman of RJD, Prabhunath Singh, can not simply be ignored.
No doubt an overwhelming number of Bhumihars would vote for Shahi whereas Rajput votes are likely to be divided between Prabhunath and Jitendra Swami of Congress.

But chief minister Nitish Kumar has a much larger objective. If he wants to go it alone and desert the BJP he needs to consolidate his upper caste, EBC and Mahadalit votes further. So he is keeping the door of his party wide open.

As it is two Bhumihar ministers in his cabinet, Giriraj Singh and Chandra Mohan Rai, besides, former state BJP chief, Dr C P Thakur, who are quite vocal in denouncing Nitish Kumar for his stand against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, the Bihar chief minister was left with no other option but to bring back old friend, who turned foe three years back.

Firstly, Lallan was not happy with the state government’s move on empowering share-croppers. The upper caste farmers organized a massive rally in Patna in May 2010 compelling Nitish to put the issue in the back-burner.

Secondly and most importantly, the induction of Koeri strongman, Upendra Kushwaha, into the Janata Dal (United) angered Lallan. Not only that Upendra openly insulted and humiliated the upper castemen and women in the presence of Nitish Kumar at a function in Patna just after coming into the party fold.
Lallan never tolerated this as Upendra had during the election campaign of 2009 Lok Sabha election hurled a personal attack on both him and Nitish.

The sudden prominence given to Upendra in JD(U) infuriated Lallan. Upendra was soon made the Rajya Sabha MP in June 2010. Lallan than campaigned against the party in the 2010 Assembly election and even worked for the Congress in several constituencies.

Meanwhile, the relationship between Nitish and Upendra once again turned sour. The latter secretly worked against JD(U)-BJP candidates at several places in the November 2010 Assembly election, that is within months of becoming party’s Rajya Sabha MP.

But the overwhelming NDA victory silenced both of them. Upendra later went on to form another party while Lallan was left high and dry. He was left with no option but to make a journey back to his old party as he was a powerful figure here.

It is not that the JD(U) has no Bhumihar leaders. Besides Shahi, there is Vijay Chaudhary who got much promotion in the last couple of years. But both these leaders have a different background and lack the quality of Lallan Singh. If JD(U) really wants to desert BJP it badly needs strong caste leaders like Lallan Singh and even Pappu Yadav.

Lallan and Pappu both have proximity with Congress too. Even Janata Dal (United) leadership is now favourably inclined towards this party.