In his quest for forming the right caste equations in a politically-charged society in Bihar right before the Assembly polls, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav is working hard to woo the state’s upper castes to defeat the ruling JD(U)-BJP, whose upper caste vote base is believed to be waning.
After bagging leading Rajput leader Prabhunath Singh of the JD(U) and announcing reservation for the upper castes last week, the RJD is currently currying favour with jailed Rajput leader Anand Mohan, the muscle-flexing former MP serving a life sentence for murdering a dalit IAS officer. In a clear sign of trying to raise its sagging upper caste vote base, the RJD sent its Rajya Sabha MP Ramkripal Yadav to the Saharsa jail to meet Mohan twice in a month’s time.
RJD leaders believe one of the best ways to weaken the ruling JD(U)-BJP combine is to poach their upper caste leadership so that Bihar’s upper caste voters, whose overwhelming support brought the NDA to power in 2005, lean to the RJD-LJP combine that promises equal attention and opportunities to all social sections if voted to power.
Despite the RJD eyeing Mohan, it is still unclear if he would offer his support to the party. His wife Lovely Anand, a former MP who was also convicted in the same murder case but has been on bail, is with the Congress. She contested the 2009 Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket and lost.
Significantly, Mohan has been a close personal and political friend of Bihar chief minister and JD(U) stalwart Nitish Kumar till his conviction in 2007.