Patna,(BiharTimes): Dropping enough hint about possible political re-alignment and re-emergence of Mandal forces––obviously Janata Dal (United) too––the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday held the party leaders, office-bearers and workers responsible for the poor performance in the recently held Lok Sabha election.

Addressing the 18th foundation day function of the RJD in Vaishali he said if the votes polled by RJD and JD(U) are put together it would be 45 per cent, and Narendra Modi’s BJP would not have been anywhere in the sight.

He, however, emphasized that his party emerged much powerful than JD(U), which got only 15 per cent votes against RJD-led combine 30 per cent. He also said that the canddiates of the ruling party in Bihar ended up losing deposits at 27 places, making it amply clear that RJD is the main force, which can stall the growth of the saffron brigade. 

On the larger Mandal alliance he said the leaders would sit together and talk about the feasibility of such a tie-up. These parties would have to unite in the changed political scenario. 

“There is a need for change and we have to think about it. We will have to take everyone along,” he said without taking the name of Janata Dal (United) at this point.

The Mandal ‘bomb’, which he referred to on the two-day training camp clearly suggests that the party is falling back on its two decades old slogans. Insiders said that Lalu may make a significant announcement in this regard on the concluding day of the training camp on Sunday.

Lalu came down heavily on the office-bearers and workers of his party and blamed them for their lackadaisical approach during the election. In contrast the BJP and RSS workers went around on cycles in the interior and campaigned for their party, “but our workers just hovered around me.”

He said the BJP workers used mobile phones, laptops, social media etc to campaign and mislead the youth. They promised employment and the young boys and girls influenced their parents to vote for BJP.

Lalu asked the party office-bearers to leave their posts on their own. He even hinted at dissolving the party’s executive. 

The party workers should not make politics a business and asked the workers to be rooted to the ground reality.

He said that the RJD got votes on its own by the voters. The workers hardly did anything. They should put their hands on the chest and ask how much they have contributed to the party during the election. 
Incidentally, party vice president, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, once again said that by supporting the two JD(U) Rajya Sabha candidates his party took poison just to stall the growth of the BJP.