Mohammad Taslimuddin, the RJD’s Muslim face and former Union minister, today quit the party, dealing a blow to its already weakened Muslim Yadav base in Bihar.
Taslimuddin was perhaps the most recognisable Muslim leader in Lalu Prasad party.
Hailing from the Muslim-dominated Araria, he was the source of RJD’s clout in the seemanchal (border) area —Kishenganj, Purnea, Araria and Katihar — near the India-Nepal and India-Bangladesh borders.
“Lalu has turned the RJD into a family affair. It (the party) has no respect for leaders outside the family,” Taslimuddin said, explaining his reason for quitting.
Defeated in the Lok Sabha polls by political greenhorn and Congress debutant Md Asrarul Haque, the four-term MP was bargaining hard with the RJD boss for a party ticket for his son.
Taslimuddin’s next step is not yet known but rumours are that he will favour Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) in the run-up to the by-polls to the 18 Assembly seats to be held on September 9 and 10 and the 2010 Assembly elections.
If he joins the JD(U), he will add to the party’s growing clout among Muslims and erode Lalu Prasad’s Muslim-Yadav base further.
RJD sources believe that Muslim leaders are no longer “safe” in Lalu Prasad’s party as they have failed to get a single seat in the last Lok Sabha polls.
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