Lalu Prasad Yadav drew smiles and winks when he declared, during a visit to the relief camps of Muzaffarnagar last month, that Modi and Kejriwal are "nothing in front of Rahul Gandhi". On Thursday, speculation that a desperate Congress party is finalising its tie-up with the convicted Parliamentarian's Rashtriya Janata Dal ahead of the Parliamentary election became a near certainty with Rahul Gandhi holding talks with the Bihar politician.
The RJD and Ram Vilas Paswan have both indicated their willingness to partner the Congress in Bihar.
Lalu on course for an alliance with Congress? PTI
The RJD strength in Lok Sabha now stands reduced to three Members of Parliament, with Lalu's own membership lost following his conviction. The Janata Dal (United) and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, following their divorce from the Bharatiya Janata Party last year, could have been an option for the Congress for an alliance in the key state of Bihar which sends 40 members to Lok Sabha, but it's now increasingly apparent that the Congress is keen to revive its 15-year-old friendship with Lalu.
That friendship has apparently not been dented by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's decision to "tear up" an ordinance drafted by the UPA to protect Lalu -- and other elected representatives who are convicted by Indian courts. In fact, rumour mills were churning through Thursday evening in New Delhi following a meeting between Rahul and Lalu that the alliance is almost final.
The Times of India reported that the two leaders discussed the current political situation in the country and did not discuss any seat-sharing plans or an alliance in the meeting that lasted about thirty minutes.
"The meeting was significant especially since Gandhi was earlier said to be not so enthusiastic about an alliance with Prasad, who has been convicted in the fodder scam case, at a time when corruption has become a key issue. The meeting came after Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Prasad last week," the report said.
Lalu was quoted as saying after the meeting that the 2014 elections would decide whether the country would stay united or if it would be communalised.
A report in The Telegraph said Lalu met Rahul and sister Priyanka in what was described as a "courtesy call". CP Joshi, the Congress's in-charge for Bihar, was also present.
"If Narendra Modi has to be stopped, then we (the RJD, the Congress and Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP) have to come together. I had stopped the rath of LK Advani. Once again, only Bihar only will stop Narendra Modi," Lalu was quoted as saying.
The 2014 polls are critical for Lalu's personal political career, in the doldrums after his conviction in a fodder scam case. He is now out on bail. For the Congress, the decision on tying up with Lalu hinges on whether the corruption taint proves darker than the possibility of garnering minority community votes through an alliance with Lalu's Rashtriya Janata Dal. The 16 per cent Muslim electorate in Bihar is a slice of the pie that the Congress and the RJD are both eyeing.
As Firstpost reported, despite the Congress's own poor showing in Bihar in recent elections, Congressmen have hit the streets of Patna and its suburbs, wielding broomsticks and spades, promising not only a clean-up of the city but also an image upheaval for the beleaguered Congress party. Whether it will yield anything is still in doubt though.
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