30/10/2017

Bihar factor in Gujarat Assembly election





Patna,(BiharTimes): While Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) faction is going to contest the upcoming Assembly election in Gujarat on its own, the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Sunday made it clear that he is ready to campaign for the Congress party if the latter asks him to do so.

Apparently, both JD(U) and RJD have nothing much at stake in that western state yet both these regional outfits want to increase their bargaining position vis-a-vis their respective allies.

Though JD(U) has one MLA, Chotubhai Vasava in Gujarat, but he has joined the rebel faction led by Sharad Yadav. Sharad in fact made him the working president of his party. This faction of JD(U) is likely to back Congress in the state.

Yet Nitish wants to put up some candidates for the upcoming election, especially in Chhota Udaipur and Bharuch districts.

Both JD(U) and RJD want to woo Bihari workers living in the states, especially in Surat, Vapi and Valsad region.

Incidentally, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, toured the region before the announcement of election date by the Election Commission earlier this month. The objective was obviously to woo the working class people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar living in Gujarat for last many years.

The JD(U)’s argument is that it has always been contesting election separately outside Bihar. Even in Gujarat it has been contesting elections on four or five Assembly seats every time since its foundation.

 Vasava has been representing the Jhagadiaya Assembly seat of Bharuch district since 1990. While he represented the erstwhile Janata Dal till 1998, he has been a JDU MLA since 1998.

But those were the days when old Socialist war horse and former JD(U) leader George Fernandes has some say in the Gujarat politics. In contrast Nitish has absolutely no clout in that state.

BJP leader and minister in the Nitish cabinet, Prem Kumar, ruled out that JD(U)’s presence would harm the prospect of BJP in some pockets in Gujarat and hoped that his party would win two-thirds seats.

On the other hand Congress has not yet announced its plan to invite Lalu or even Sharad as the party is a bit confident this time.

However, political analysts are of the view that the Congress may invite Lalu for the sake of symbolic unity in the Grand Alliance constituents. Party vice president Rahul Gandhi has no such reservation about Lalu as he used to have till a couple of years back.

Lalu would certainly like to see the defeat of BJP in that state, but nothing can be said clearly about JD(U)’s position as it has thrown its hat in the ring––at least in a few seats.

 



 

 

 

 

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