RJD looking for deal with Left in Bihar

So why is the Railway Minister suddenly showering ‘love’ on the Left? Lalu watchers attest that his erratic comments often mask a methodical agenda and that his warmth towards the Left parties is born out of political compulsions.

Even the communist leaders are aware of this. “Laluji knows that the odds are stacked against him in the electoral arena. He needs our help in the form of an electoral alliance in Bihar. This is the secret behind Laluji’s love for us,” CPI state secretary Jalaluddin Ansari told The Indian Express over the phone. However, he welcomed the RJD chief’s motives and said, “it seems good sense is prevailing upon him”.

In the last general election, Lalu’s electoral arrangement with the CPI had broken over seat-sharing and then again in the by-election for the Bhagalpur seat; last year, Lalu had elbowed out the sitting CPI(M) candidate and fielded his own nominee, leading to BJP’s victory in the Muslim-dominated constituency.

For the Congress, an acrimonious relationship with the Left is fairly appropriate, as it is their principal opponent in West Bengal and Kerala. But for Lalu, the Left, with cadre bases in various pockets of Bihar, is desperately needed at a time when RJD’s support base has dwindled considerably.

Senior RJD leader and MLA Shakeel Ahmad Khan confirmed that his party was preparing for an alliance with the CPI and CPI(M) in Bihar. “The Left has always been behind us in difficult times. Laluji is only reciprocating,” Khan said.

There’s more to Lalu’s outpourings. Once a Lalu confidant and now his bitter rival, JD(U) MP Shivanand Tiwari feels the drifting Muslim vote bank plays into Lalu’s effusiveness. “Lalu’s political life lies in the Muslim vote bank and he knows that it is drifting away from him. Now he wants the Left’s support, so that their anti-US tirades neutralise the impact of his support...