Author: Akhilesh Suman
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: March 25, 2009
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/164967/Lalu-brings-Mulayam-in-to-sink-Paswan.html
The game is out. The Samajwadi Party is all
set to jump into fray in Bihar as a "vote katva" party to sabotage
the Lok Janshakti Party's prospects. In the backdrop of RJD chief Lalu Prasad's
new-found friendship with his UP counterpart Mulayam Singh Yadav, the SP move
is bound upset Paswan's calculations.
The SP will field five candidates for the
Lok Sabha election in the State. Four of them would be pitted against Paswan's
party and one against the RJD.
Sources in the SP told The Pioneer that the
decision was taken after consultation with RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who had
been arm-twisted by Paswan to leave 12 seats that could have been otherwise
shared with the Congress to keep the UPA flock together in the JD(U)-ruled
State.
The seats on which Mulayam has decided to
field the candidates in Bihar are Arrah, Buxur, Araria, Begusarai and Purnea.
SP nominee Krishna Prasad, who comes from
an extremely backward caste, will take on LJP's Rama Singh at Arrah. Rama
Singh is seen as an "outsider".
From Araria, the SP has decided to field sitting
MP Sukhdeo Paswan, who resigned from the BJP on Monday to join the SP. He
will be pitted against LJP nominee Jakir Ahmed.
At Begusarai, the SP would nominate Ramjivan
Yadav, who is the party's spokesperson in Bihar. He is likely to make LJP
candidate Anil Chaudhary's life miserable.
From Purnea, SP's nominee Amaluddin Ansari
would play spoiler to LJP candidate Shanker Jha.
From Buxur, the party has fielded Rajesh Roshan
Yadav against RJD nominee Jagatanand Singh. Lalu reportedly did not want Jagtananad
to leave Bihar because he is a senior party leader who lends a helping hand
to Rabri Devi, the leader of Opposition in Bihar.
Sources said that the Bihar SP wanted to field
11 candidates, but the party's parliamentary board agreed on only five.
The SP is also upset with Paswan because he
fielded VP Singh's son Ajeya Singh from Fatehpur against SP's Rakesh Sachan.
