In yet another setback to RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, his brother-in-law and former Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Yadav on Monday quit the party with the probability of joining the Congress. But the RJD chief, trying hard to look unperturbed, responded by joking and jeering at the Congress.
The departure of Subhash Yadav, considered a strongman in the RJD and one of the most resourceful poll strategists in the party, could have a detrimental impact on the RJD’s performance in Bihar’s October-November Assembly polls. Another brother-in-law of the RJD chief, former Lok Sabha MP Sadhu Yadav, had quit to join the Congress last year.
Subhash Yadav, who was in the news in March for almost swooping on vice-president A.H. Ansari to snatch away copies of the Women’S Reservation Bill and tear them apart during its presentation in the Rajya Sabha, was unhappy ever since the RJD decided not to nominate him for another term in the Upper House in June. The RJD boss, a rigid opponent of the bill, was clearly unimpressed by such antics of Subhash Yadav, who was also in trouble after an FIR was lodged against him in May for allegedly abducting a liquor shop employee in Patna.
"The Congress has become an importer of leaders while our party (RJD) is now the exporter of leaders," said Lalu Prasad Yadav, trying to present the impression that the ongoing exodus of RJD leaders to the Congress would hardly affect his party. On Monday, RJD leader and former Union minister Akhilesh Singh joined the Congress a day after quitting the RJD.
The RJD chief deployed his familiar sense of humour to conveniently deflect questions about the likely impact of Subhash Yadav’s departure. "No matter where he goes, he would keep being identified as Lalu’s brother-in-law. It will give him some respect," he told reporters.
But Subhash Yadav had some hard-hitting parting words for the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and former railway minister. "The Rashtriya Janata Dal is a sinking boat and nobody would like to travel in it during the Assembly elections. The boat’s captain has lived his life and is no longer in a position to run it," said Subhash Yadav.
He also alleged that the RJD chief had been behaving like a dictator.
While Subhash Yadav, who resigned from the RJD’s primary membership, is most likely to seek an active role in the Congress, the national party reportedly expressed reservations about his induction. But Congress sources said like Sadhu Yadav last year, Subhash Yadav could be welcome into the party soon.