The RJD-LJP’s projection of both Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate and Mr Pashupati Kumar Paras as the deputy chief ministerial candidate is likely to damage the alliance’s prospects in the Assembly polls in two crucial ways due to the emerging reactions and strategies of the two parties’ opponents.
While the ruling JD(U)-BJP combine, which built much of its government’s goodwill by constantly reminding Bihar’s people of the “jungle raj” during the RJD’s 15 years in power, has said Mr Yadav’s badly battered image would spoil his dreams, other parties have pointed at how LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan conveniently forgot his 2005 insistence on having a Muslim as chief minister and projected his brother Paras as the deputy CM in what they called an act of favouritism.
The RJD-LJP’s ceremonial announcement of their candidates for the CM and deputy CM posts was followed by predictably sharp reactions from political parties in Bihar. Even as the RJD, already confident of forming Bihar’s next government with the LJP, described Mr Yadav as a “great administrator with proven successes as the railway minister,” the ruling NDA, Congress, the NCP and the Left parties are determined to remind Bihar’s electorate the crimes, scams, corruption and caste-related excesses that took place during the RJD’s three consecutive governments.
“Both Yadav and Paswan are insulting the political wisdom of Bihar’s electorate by thinking aloud that their alliance is winning the Assembly polls. Bihar’s people know how Yadav became such a tall leader only due to the Mandal-Mandir politics and then grossly misused his goodwill,” said JD(U) Rajya Sabha member and chief spokesman Shivanand Tiwary.
JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav bitterly attacked both Mr Yadav and Mr Paswan.