Lalu in Jail More Politically Relevant Than Lalu Walking Free

Whenever Lalu has to appear before the CBI court in the fodder scam cases or his bail application is rejected, it heralds the end of Lalu as far the analysts are concerned. But every time Lalu is put to extra pain, it strengthens the determination of his supporters. Lalu in jail is more lethal than Lalu when he walks free. Here’s an analysis, for Different Truths.

With the Jharkhand High Court rejecting the bail application of RJD chief Lalu Yadav in the multi-crore fodder scam, analysts have started writing his political epithet and visualise the end of the politics of social justice. They are aware that Lalu is the only leader, not even Mulayam Singh Yadav, in the Hindi heartland who can stop the saffron chariot. But they ignore the fact that a Lalu in jail is more lethal than a Lalu operating from his 10, Circular Road residence in Patna.

Recently in the wake of ticket distribution for the by-elections to Rajya Sabha and assembly, the RJD conceding to the demand of the Congress to contest the Bhabhua assembly was perceived as the party giving in to the Congress pressure. No doubt the RJD had blinked in the eyeball-to-eyeball tussle with the Congress over the by-election candidate. But it was a strategic move by Lalu to keep the Congress block intact. The gesture helped avert a split in the Congress, which Nitish and company have been trying to project.

“We have come to the mutual understanding that in the by-polls, the RJD will contest two seats and the Congress will fight one, which is Bhabhua. The RJD will field its candidates from Araria (Lok Sabha) and Jehanabad (Assembly) seats,” leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said, flanked by senior Bihar Congress leaders Kaukab Quadri and Madan Mohan Jha. Polling for the three seats will be held on March 11.

Even if Lalu had not gone to jail he would have spared the Bhabhua seat to the Congress. This was clear from the assertion of Tejashwi Yadav that Bhabhua was not given to Congress under any pressure. On the contrary, there was pressure from BJP on Nitish Kumarji, who did not field candidates in any of the three seats, he added.

Politically it is more important for the RJD to keep alive the spirit and existence of the Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan). In future, the politics in Bihar will revolve around this alliance. An independent and isolated Lalu Yadav will have to confront and re-live the nightmare of the late nineties when crime and might of the gun ruled Bihar. There is no denying the fact that the mahagathbandhan to a large extent has erased the terrifying memories of that period.

It is also significant that Tejashwi has embarked on the path of creating a new image for himself and his father. He has already launched ‘Nyay Yatra’ (Justice Yatra) in rural Bihar from 9 February to tell people how his father was “framed through conspiracy” in the fodder scam cases. He claims Lalu Prasad’s rivals the BJP and Nitish Kumar have conspired against him to silence him.

He will use the yatra to tell the people about the standstill of development works and the crisis that has rendered thousands of poor labourers jobless, of increasing atrocities against Dalits and the ‘total failure’ of law and order in the state. He has also been telling the people about the series of scams in Bihar during Nitish Kumar’s rule, including the Srijan scam, the toppers scam etc.

Incidentally, during his ‘Janadesh Apmaan Yatra’ last year, he had claimed ‘overwhelming support’ of the people. According to him, people were angry and unhappy at the way Nitish Kumar joined hands with the BJP against the mandate of the Bihar Assembly polls in 2015. Though the JD(U) and BJP leaders have been exposing the political moves of Tejashwi, describing him as politically naïve, it is surprising that almost all of them have been targeting him. It is quite significant that Tejashwi is the lone opposition leader who has been systematically firing at Nitish. Only a couple of days back he accused Nitish of ‘trying to become a social reformer’. “You should first improve the corrupt system and inefficient law and order condition. Naiteek babu (Mr Moralist), first put a stop to loot, kidnapping and rapes and then become a social reformer,” he mocked at Nitish.