Election 2009 Article #2

Continuing on my series of election reporting for this year’s general elections, we shall take a closer look on one of the key UPA ally from the last government – Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Lalu has base only in Bihar. With the breakup of state into jharkhand as well, the state seats have got even lesser. Lalu yadav had a dream run in the centre as the railway minister and could well be called the most successful minister in the Manmohan Singh led government. Railway story sold everywhere right from coporate club house IIM-A to muddy streets of chandni chowk. Are the number hiding the real info, we will get to know only in the next term.

Riding high on confidance, Lalu decided not to share any seat in bihar with congress and hence the pre poll alliance got broken. Lalu shook hands with another loser Ram Vilas Paswan. The idea was to get majority seats in Bihar using the anti incumbency factor against Nitish Kumar’s government, and ask for a better negotiation with the UPA after the elections are over.

The Plan doesn’t seem to be working well though. Firstly Nitish government has done some work in bihar and to a devastated state, that has came as a welcome relief. Secondly, because of the above mentioned reason, the exit polls show that Lalu’s RJD party is hardly getting 3-4 seats in the whole state and the nation as such.

Such weak numbers don’t leave lalu with any major saying at all. If the above said results come out to be true, not only Lalu losses the power in the central government, his allies at the ground level in bihar shall also leave him. This might actually mean an end to Lalu Yadav’s political career. Once not in power he might even find the criminal cases of his neighbors also opened up in his name, rest assured his own are not going anywhere.

One of the political journalist described the above phenomenon as

“Chaube ji ban-ne gaye the Chabbe ji, par rahe na Dubeyji”