BIHAR ELECTIONS: ALL IS NOT WELL WITHIN THE ALLIANCE

BIHAR ELECTIONS: ALL IS NOT WELL WITHIN THE ALLIANCE

19-OCT-ENG 1

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA-------------------------The Congress party has so far announced its candidates for 54 seats in the Bihar elections. The VIP is also nominating its candidates, while the Left parties are contesting on seats of their own choosing, deviating from their designated boundaries. The situation clearly indicates that all is not well within the alliance.

Three days ago, a senior RJD leader arrived in Delhi from Patna. According to sources, he was sent by Lalu Prasad Yadav to negotiate with the Congress party, as the two parties were unable to reach an agreement on several seats. Both the RJD and Congress were engaged in distributing their respective symbols. An attempt was made to have the Congress contest only on its own seats, but the matter did not materialize. The Congress distributed symbols as per its claims, and the RJD also fielded its candidates where it had finalized its candidates.

The RJD will not withdraw its candidates from the five seats it fielded against the Congress—Lalganj, Warsaliganj, Sikandra, Vaishali, and Kahalgaon. The party made this clear yesterday. This means that if Congress doesn't back down, the contest for these five seats will be a direct one between the RJD and the Congress—a conflict within the alliance itself.

Indeed, the Congress currently appears divided into several factions—the state president, the state in-charge, the former state president, the legislative party leader, and an independent MP—all trying to secure tickets for their respective supporters. This is why differences within the party are deepening and the alliance's knots are becoming more complicated.

The RJD is now neither listening to the Congress nor the VIP. The treatment meted out to both appears to be part of a strategy, not unexpected. Indeed, the anti-RJD camp within the Congress and the VIP have taken Lalu Yadav's political understanding and tactics for granted.