Swabhiman Rally: Lalu’s show of strength

PATNA: If the number of party flags carried by people reaching Gandhi Maidan here to attend the Swabhiman Rally of the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) on Sunday was any indication, the rally turned out to be a Lalu Prasad show. It not only made it clear who will be the elder brother in the alliance between CM Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad but clearly suggested who will remote control the government if the secular alliance comes to power after the state assembly polls.
Deprived of power for the past 10 years, Lalu’s supporters, including his castemen Yadavs, thronged the rally venue in huge numbers, outnumbering the JD(U), Congress and SP supporters. Desperate to establish its dominance in the grand alliance, the RJD virtually made the rally a show of strength. Not surprisingly, Lalu was the last speaker at the rally. All the RJD ticket aspirants had brought over a large number of their supporters to Patna to impress their party supremo.
The RJD supporters not only turned up in large number but were very distinct in the gathering. After all, Yadavs constitute over 14% of the Bihar population. The show of strength by the RJD could even lead to change in dynamics in the alliance as the process of distribution of tickets is to start soon. It is yet to be decided which seats JD(U) and RJD would contest. Some RJD leaders even feel the party was shortchanged and made to agree for only 100 seats besides accepting Nitish’s leadership. RJD had fared better than JU(U) in 2014 LS polls. The RJD had bagged four seats in the LS polls while JD(U) could win only two.
The RJD and JD(U) will contest 98 and 100 seats, respectively, in the assembly polls as Lalu has given two of his seats to SP. But, apparently, some senior RJD leaders are not satisfied with the number of seats. RJD vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh had recently said though the party had a made a bigger sacrifice, it had got little in return even as it has a better strike rate. He was obviously referring to the RJD agreeing to Nitish Kumar’s candidature for the CM’s post. Incidentally, it was Nitish who was sitting next to Sonia Gandhi on the dais. Again, it was he who received her at Gandhi Maidan.
NDA, particularly BJP, would not be unhappy with the huge presence of RJD supporters, particularly Yadavs at the rally, as it would strengthen its charge that Lalu’s presence in the grand alliance would usher in ‘jungle raj 2’ if the alliance is voted to power. It may prompt the fence-sitters, who were impressed by Nitish’s governance, to think twice before exercising their franchise.