MESSAGE BOARD
NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTION 99
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

NDA seat adjustment problems take their toll in Bihar

Sorror Ahmed in Patna

The delay in seat adjustments among the National Democratic Alliance constituents and the BJP's move to project party national vice president Kailashpati Mishra, have started taking its toll in Bihar.

Since much depends on the outcome of the talks going on in Delhi the Rashtriya Janata Dal has held back its own list. Thus, in the first two days, only six nomination papers have been filed for the 108 seats in the state.

Though the NDA constituents realise that any slackness or infighting could result in a rout like the one they faced in Karnataka, they have yet not been able to effect a compromise. There is no scope for a friendly fight, since that gave the RJD an advantage even during the last Lok Sabha election.

There is mad rush to grab the maximum number of seats since the party with most wins is likely to produce the chief minister. The BJP has repeatedly asserted that the chief minister will be picked only after the election.

Political observers feel the BJP was, till recently, deliberately provoking Nitish Kumar by promoting Telecommunication Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Though the BJP has not yet disclosed the name of its candidate for chief minister, it is expected to be national vice-president Kailashpati Mishra.

Sushil Modi's chances were hit the day fellow bania Ram Prakash Gupta became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. The BJP don't want to lose any votes by patronising the same community in Uttar Pradesh too.

But the BJP isn't revealing the name just yet though RJD poll campaign committee chairman Bhola Prasad specifically asked it to reveal the name of its "hidden chief ministerial candidate". It does not want to harm its poll prospect by disclosing names at this stage. Kailashpati, a Bhumihar, may not be acceptable to many BJP leaders, besides the Janata Dal (United) and the Samata Party.

After all, three top BJP leaders, including former state president and one of the oldest Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh members, Tara Kant Jha, and two other senior leaders were expelled from the party over the infamous Bhumihar controversy.

During the 1996 parliamentary election, the then incharge of Bihar affairs, Govindacharya, had stated that the Bhumihars were undependable. Even last year, the BJP bulletin claimed the Bhumihars were feudal. This raised a storm in the party, leading to action being taken against the three top leaders. Party members alleged that Govindacharya and Modi were responsible for the publication of this blatantly "anti-Bhumihar" piece.

Notwithstanding this, several BJP Bhumihar leaders remained loyal to the party. Kailashpati's nomination is seen as an attempt to assuage hurt feelings. He is also one of the seniormost party leaders, and one with strong RSS background to boot.

But Bhumihars aren't very popular in some rural areas, especially after the massacres organised by those in the Ranvir Sena. The party realises, therefore, that it isn't prudent to name a Bhumihar as its candidate for chief ministership just yet though Kailashpati himself has never indulged in caste politics.

The alliance partners has already expressed their displeasure over his elevation. The Janata Dal (United) state spokesman Laxmi Sahu told rediff.com that he could not be the chief minister going by the BJP president Khushbhau Thakres's assertion that anyone interested in becoming a chief minister should leave national politics and fight the state assembly elections.

Whatever the final outcome, the delay in seat-sharing is sending the wrong signals to the state party unit at a time that the other parties have already begun electioneering in a big way.

Tell us what you think of this report