Patna: Facing two strong adversaries and debarred from contesting elections following his conviction in a fodder scam case has not dampened Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad's spirits. The alliance with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party in Bihar shows that Lalu still calls the shots and has not yielded much as he fights a tough battle to remain a potent political force in the state.
Lalu has left very few seats for his allies where they have a realistic chance of winning. The Congress not only failed to get the desired seats but had to cede ground to the RJD in some areas where it was relatively strong.
As per the seat sharing, RJD will contest from 27 constituencies, Congress 12 and NCP one.
Lalu will put up candidates in Araria, Madhubani, Jhanjarpur, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Purbi Champaran, Paschmi Champaran, Saran, Siwan, Maharajganj, Begusarai, Madhepura, Khagaria, Bhagalpur, Munger, Jamui, Ujjiarpur, Vaishali, Banks, Arrah, Jehanabad, Buxar, Gaya, Nawadh, Patliputra and Karakat.
The Congress has got Valmikinagar, Supaul, Muzaffarpur, Kishanganj, Purnia, Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Aurangabad, Sasaram, Hajipur, Samastipur and Gopalganj while NCP's Tariq Anwar will contest from Katihar.
Madhubani was one of the contentious seats and in order to ensure that his flock is united especially after the drama over 13 RJD MLAs breaking away to support the Nitish Kumar government, Lalu remained adamant and managed to retain it. RJD MLA Abdul Bari Siddiqui, who was reportedly being lured by the Janata Dal United, is most likely to contest from there.
Congress General Secretary Shakil Ahmed was eyeing Madhubani but now he is not keen on contesting from another seat. But the party did manage to get Sasaram and Kishanganj, the two seats it won in 2009.
Lalu has also left Aurangabad for former Delhi Police Commissioner Nikhil Kumar, who resigned as Kerala Governor to fight elections. The RJD also secured two more seats preferred by the Congress. Bihar Congress chief Ashok Choudhary and MLA Sadanand Singh had to leave Jamui and Bhagalpur to ensure the alliance.
While Lalu is hopeful that his jail term in a fodder scam case has generated sympathy among his core vote bank of Yadavs and Muslims, he is also eyeing the upper castes after allying with the Congress, although the Grand Old Party is a spent force in the state.
The Maharajganj bypoll in 2013 where RJD's Prabhunath Singh decimated JDU leader and Bihar Education Minister PK Shahi getting a large chunk of forward caste votes in addition to support of the Yadav-Muslim combine has given Lalu the hope of once again becoming a big player.
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