Patna,(BiharTimes): When the media in Bihar was talking of the rift over Mohammad Shahabuddin between Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal and some of them were even speculating imminent collapse of the Grand Alliance government in Bihar, Lalu Prasad and later his son and deputy chief minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav backed the name of chief minister Nitish Kumar as the prime ministerial candidate.
Not only the media has been silenced, but it also shows how much RJD chief Lalu Prasad gives importance to Shahabuddin. It is his political compulsion to back Nitish’s candidature as he wanted to pay Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi back in the same coin.
After all in September 2013 Rahul strongly opposed the ordinance on convicted politicians. Days later Lalu was convicted and he could not contest election.
If today his two sons are minister and he is out of the picture it was because of this very reason. Now he is playing another political innings, but not for himself, but for his sons, who can become chief minister only if Chote Bhai Nitish Kumar vacates seat.
But Lalu has some other compulsions too. He is not going all out with Nitish in UP, where he can not afford to break his ties with the Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. A few days back Lalu was in that state and even met Mulayam when he was still busy dousing fire within the family. Lalu’s youngest daughter Raj Lakshmi is married to Mulayam’s grand nephew, Tej Pratap, who contested and won Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat after the former vacated it. The SP chief had won 2014 election from Azamgarh too.
But how will Nitish become prime minister without enjoying full support from the like-minded parties in the most populated state, that is, Uttar Pradesh?
Lalu appears to be torn between family or ‘samdhiana’ and political ground reality. In the interview to The Telegraph a few days back he had not only taken the name of Nitish, but also of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, Jayalalithaa for the prime ministerial post.
Lalu (of 2016) might have made a big comeback, but he is not Lalu of 1996, when as the then Janata Dal president and Bihar chief minister he played an important role in installing H D Deve Gowda as the prime minister of India.
Mulayam then reportedly grew angry as Lalu spoiled his chance of becoming the prime minister.
Two decades back convicted Lalu may have the same conviction, but he had his hands legally tied behind.
Unlike today Lalu was quite clear in backing Sonia Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate in 2003 too when the BJP was campaigning against foreigher ‘bahu’ (daughter-in-law).
