Lalu to write a book.

His cronies and ardent supporters may have done it in the past: Penning quite a few of the "Lalu Chalisas" but RJD chief Lalu Prasad

himself, now wants to get into writing mode. But his book will capture more of the political events of his time when he was chief minister. His desire to write a book is, however, being ridiculed by the rival camp which is now even digging into the past to boost its attack on Lalu. The maverick Lalu declared the other day that he will write a book, recounting the events which led to the arrest of LK Advani, besides exposing those who had opposed his arrest. Lalu was Bihar chief minister when Mr Advani was arrested on October 23, 1990, in Samastipur. "It is good to hear that Laluji will be writing a book. But he should also include in the book how he "after his arrest" expressed apology to Advaniji and even explained to him the reasons behind his arrest, said JD(U) leader Nihora Prasad Yadav. Interestingly, Nihora Prasad Yadav was till recently in the RJD camp but has now switched his political loyalty to the JD(U). But his old association with Lalu did not stop him from targeting Lalu who he said had even accepted a golden crown from Independent MLA Pradip Joshi, "a politician known for Muslim bashing". Taking a jibe at Lalu, Munna Sahi of JD(U) said he was not sure whether Lalu will himself write the book or seek someone's help. "I am not sure about his literary calibre. But if he does write a book , he should also write about the kidnapping industry, which was the only industry that thrived in his regime," said Mr Sahi. Another JD(U) leader, Anil Pathak, sought to open the can of worms for Lalu and said his regime was known for scams. "The book should have a special chapter on all the scams which had become endemic of the Rabri-Lalu regime. The bitumen scam and the multi-crore fodder scam should be included in the book so that the coming generation gets to know all the Lalu regime was known for, " said Mr Pathak.

Lalu Attacks Nitish.

At the 122nd birth anniversary celebration of Bihar's first Chief Minister Sri Krishna Sinha organized by the All India Brahmarshi Samaj in Patna on Wednesday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav reiterated his assertion that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was out to grab their properties in the name of land reforms.

"After facing humiliating defeats in the last Assembly by-polls, the Chief Minister changed his tune about implementing the recommendations made in the Bandhopadhyaya Commission report. People, however, should not be misled by Nitish Kumar's tricks because his game plan is to first refuse to implement the commission's recommendations and just when you think you were safe, he would take away your land after the next state elections," the RJD leader said brimming with confidence.

Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) president Ram Vilas Paswan who was also present on the occasion, however, came up with the strangest metaphor of the afternoon when he compared both Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav to snakes.

"While the RJD president is a snake without poison, Nitish is full of venom," Paswan said much to the shock of many RJD leaders.

Resorting to the old caste-based divide and rule tactics, Paswan said that Nitish had insulted the Bhumihars and the voters' must teach him a lesson in the next year's Assembly elections.

Former LJP leader now with Janata Dal (U), legislator Sanjay Singh shot back at both Yadav and Paswan saying the two were like chameleons who would say or do anything to come back in power.

"After years of insulting the Brahmins, Bhumihars, and Kayasthas by giving them a derogatory term like 'Bhoora Baal', Lalu is now trying to win back their support. Does he really think that the people of Bihar have forgotten everything and have forgiven him for his past sins? He will find out the answer in the next Assembly polls in Bihar," the JD-U leader said.

Singh also accused Yadav of tacitly supporting those who were involved in a number of massacres during the infamous Lalu-Rabri rule in Bihar.

"He wanted to finish the upper caste to establish his hegemony and that is why he never visited the families of the victims of Senari and Bara carnages," the JD-U leader said adding it was Lalu Prasad who single-handedly drove out upper caste people from Bihar.

Lalu meets Sonia.

Boosted by a surprise good performance in the recently concluded bye-elections in Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader began his tentative campaign to re-enter the UPA fold. He met with Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her home at 10 Janpath this morning, and is reported to have discussed the possibility of a tie for the Jharkhand Assembly polls.

Life has not been very pleasant for the former railway minister after her parted ways with the Congress as an electoral partner on the eve of the 2009 General Elections. Not only was his strength reduced from 24 MPs to just 4, but because of the bad blood just before elections, the Congress too did not extend itself to accommodating him at the Centre.
He also became a target for railway minister Mamta Banerjee who appears determined to prick Lalu Prasad's image as the man who turned around the Indian Railways.

Out of the power at the Centre and in Bihar, the 8 seats which he and his ally, Lok Janshakti leader Ram Vilas Paswan won together. Along with the Congress' two seats, the tally tots up to a respectable 10 seats, something he was heard repeating to Sonia Gandhi at the Prime Minister's iftaar on Friday night.

Lalu Prasad is hoping his exile from power, in some form might come to an end now. It is upto Sonia Gandhi to decide whether she is willing to give up the go it alone policy the Congress has adopted in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar till now.

Lalu meets Sonia.

Boosted by a surprise good performance in the recently concluded bye-elections in Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader began his tentative campaign to re-enter the UPA fold. He met with Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her home at 10 Janpath this morning, and is reported to have discussed the possibility of a tie for the Jharkhand Assembly polls.

Life has not been very pleasant for the former railway minister after her parted ways with the Congress as an electoral partner on the eve of the 2009 General Elections. Not only was his strength reduced from 24 MPs to just 4, but because of the bad blood just before elections, the Congress too did not extend itself to accommodating him at the Centre.
He also became a target for railway minister Mamta Banerjee who appears determined to prick Lalu Prasad's image as the man who turned around the Indian Railways.

Out of the power at the Centre and in Bihar, the 8 seats which he and his ally, Lok Janshakti leader Ram Vilas Paswan won together. Along with the Congress' two seats, the tally tots up to a respectable 10 seats, something he was heard repeating to Sonia Gandhi at the Prime Minister's iftaar on Friday night.

Lalu Prasad is hoping his exile from power, in some form might come to an end now. It is upto Sonia Gandhi to decide whether she is willing to give up the go it alone policy the Congress has adopted in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar till now.

Nitish dividing Bihar:Lalu.

Two days after his party staged a comeback in the by-elections, a jubilant Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad on Saturday said the Nitish Kumar government had begun its downward spiral.

Mr. Prasad said this was amply indicated in the results, as his party won twice as many seats as the Janata Dal (United) and thrice as many as the Bharatiya Janata Party.

He criticised the government for aiming “to create schisms between different sections.”

“Our younger brother, the so-called ‘development guru,’ Mr. Nitish Kumar [the Chief Minister of Bihar] has not done anything for the common people, apart from devising divisive policies, which have only pitted one caste against another,” he charged.

“We do not make distinctions between castes, whether Bhumihar or Rajput. We have always sought the blessings of the Brahman caste before embarking on any important endeavour,” he said, declaring that “all Biharis were one.”

He alleged that complaints were not heeded by the government, and that it had not looked after the interests of its farmers, whether big or small.

He said the government “was not capable of setting up even a needle factory in Bihar.”

“The Bihar public is now asking his [Nitish’s] government to account for the money given by the Centre for the implementation of various schemes.”

Seeking to maintain solidarity with the Congress, Mr. Prasad said the “Congress may have left me, but I will never leave the Congress.”

Mr. Prasad said the RJD-LJP (Lok Jan Shakti Party) combine would contest elections in Jharkhand.

He welcomed other allies for the 2010 Assembly elections.

Congress:Lalu=??

The verdict of the byelections in Bihar may have come as a shot in the arm to Congress, but it has also, at the same time, placed it in

the horns of a major dilemma — should it continue chanting the ekla chalo re theme, or should it swallow its pride and join hands with the RJD-LJP combine to form a broader ``secular’’ alliance in an attempt to checkmate the NDA camp in the next year’s assembly polls? The results of the byelections to the 18 assembly seats, in which Congress won two seats, wresting both seats from JD(U), has brought smiles back on the faces of its local satraps, but their good showing was dwarfed by an even more spectacular performance put up by the RJD-LJP combine. The alliance bagged half of the 18 constituencies that were up for grabs, with Mr Lalu Prasad’s outfit cornering six seats. The ruling JD(U)-BJP alliance, which could only win five seats, was pushed to a distant second position, making it clear that, far from being written off, the Lalu Prasad Yadav-Ram Vilas Paswan combo had emerged as a formidable player in the state’s political scene. As far as the opposition space in the state was concerned, they left no one in doubt about their credentials as the most powerful claimants. The development, far from bringing cheer in the Congress camp, has increased their worrylines. It is now caught in a major bind. Should it continue with its resolve of going solo in the next year’s electoral battle, it runs the risk of being dubbed as a vote-katua (spoiler) and ceding the ``secular’’ space to a resurgent RJD-LJP combine. An analysis of the voting-pattern in the latest round of byelections in the state shows that the alliance has been able to cut its losses. While the Yadavs and Dalits stuck to them, there are enough indications to the suggest that the Muslims have started gravitating back towards the combo. In the Araria seat, for instance, Muslim, who comprise a large chunk of the electorate, appear to have voted en-mass for the LJP candidate, Vijay Kumar Mandal. A similar pattern was visible in Phulwarisharif, tucked away in one corner of the capital Patna. If Congress, on the other hand, does indeed change its stand and decides to mend fences with Mr Prasad and Mr Paswan to forge a broader ``secular’’ alliance, it runs the risk of pushing the upper castes back into arms of the JD(U)-BJP combine. In quite a few constituencies that went to poll on September 10 and 13, Congress candidates walked away with large chunks of upper caste votes. Disenchanted with the Nitish Kumar government for its aggressive wooing of the non-Yadav OBCs and EBCs, the upper castes, who formed the backbone of the NDA in the state, have been eyeing alternative political platforms to park themselves on. Congress had, of late, started positioning itself for that slot. With the exception of Simri Bakhtiarpur and Chenari, the number of votes polled by Congress candidates was, however, not enough to put them ahead of their rivals. They ended up damaging the prospects of the RJD-LJP combine. ``Had Congress agreed to join us, we’d have swept the bypolls. By going it alone, the party only ended up wrecking our prospects,’’ argued a senior RJD leader. It is the fear of being dismissed as a spoiler in next year’s larger electoral battle that Congress will have to guard itself against. The tag can force its ``secular’’ supporters to veer towards the RJD-LJP combine, leaving the party only with the crumbs.