Walls of Raj Darbhanga falling on Lalu

Walls of Raj Darbhanga falling on Lalu
VIJAY DEO JHA
DARBHANGA (North Bihar)

Aloof listeners offered little or no sense of engagement to RJD chief
Lalu Prasad; as if, they are convinced the return of Gwala years is a
close chapter. He fears lantern is flickering to finish; but then,
Lalu like a weatherman announced the wave of RJD-LJP alliance getting
stronger everyday like Katrina.
“Nitish sarkar ankron ki sarkar hai…jhooth ka pulinda hai. Nitish ke
jhooth ke khilaf RJD-LJP ko support mil raha hai.”
Few ran in histrionic sloganeering, ‘Lalooo Zindabad,’ rest remained
indifferent.
It was one of the scenes of election campaign of Lalu in Kuseswarsthan
situated on South-East flank of district Darbhanga; one of the
political laboratories of social justice of Lalu.
Darbhanga — the cradle of Maithils and Maithili, ancient gateway to
Bengal — had supplied critical political support to Lalu all these 20
years. It is in silent mode.
six out of 10 assembly constituencies, (forming the part of Darbhanga
district) the area had obliged this much support to Lalu in the last
Bihar Assembly election when he was receiving knock from the NDA
combine elsewhere in Bihar. Bihar had voted for the NDA: Darbhanga had
voted for Lalu, though.
Will Darbhanga vote for Lalu again? Mahakant Chaudhary, a health
worker in Kuseswarsthan, and, like most Biharis, an inveterate dabbler
in politics, says: “Many things have changed in the last five years,
Nitish Kumar has made serious inroad in Lalu’s MY (Muslim-Yadav)
combination as well as backward community vote. Besides, his
seriousness for development has not gone unnoticed.
There exist pucca roads connecting constituencies to district
headquarter. The very demand which Lalu had denied to poor and
illiterate on the ground that only rich requires roads to ply their
motor-vehicle otherwise buffalos do not need it.

“Now, Lalu has promised to give motorcycle to every student if he wins
and it will roll on the roads laid by NDA government. His promise
rings like a banter. He is not taken seriously even if he expresses
regret over complete lack development during his regime or his wife,”
said Ramkishore Mandal.
Nitish craftily stitched class and caste combination: maha Dalits
(extreme backward classes) and Pasmanda Muslims have rattled the
flanks of Lalu and Paswan. And, in the thick of that combat, the
Congress in a desperate effort to get off the ground.
But then, political battles have always been very intense in
Darbhanga. And Darbhanga have remained trend setter for vast swathe of
Mithilanchal that accounts sizable number of constituencies if won can
alone push and prod party to the power. It helped Lalu a lot, but that
is a paper truism rings hollow all across the region it is not going
to fall into one basket.
Darbhanga parliamentary constituency has always been a moveable feast
— impenetrable citadel of the Congress for decades after Independence,
briefly occupied by Late Surendra Jha Suman of Jansangh. But in post
1990s era it became a vibrant play field of the Mandal revolution,
hosting hardboiled Hindutva alike. But after an intense political
battle Lalu emerged as the lord of Darbhanga.
20 years down the lane things have changed for Lalu, the subaltern
sahib — and more is getting pilled on him. “All these years we blindly
voted for Lalu to keep Congress and communal at bay. But he showed no
intention of development, employment and other basic things which is a
prime responsibility of a government,” says Jamal Quraishi of newly
carved Gaurabauram constituency earlier known as Ghanshyampur
constituency.
Former RJD MLA of this constituency Dr. Mahavir Yadav is in the fray.
It would appear that he will have left with Y factor to yoke, the
majority of M factor have joined sitting MLA Dr Izhar Ahmed who is
contesting as JD (U) candidate after deserting LJP.
Abdul Bari Siddiqui of the RJD is apprehensive in newly carved
Alinagar constituency after delimitation drive shattered his carefully
crafted MY combination and the shape of his previous constituency
Bahera. His best hope lies on the probable division of dominant
Brahmin vote between JD (U) Prabhakar Chaudhary and Madan Mohan Jha of
the Congress.

The greater Mithilanchal will vote on October 21 and 24 respectively
and as the sun set upon the first phase of election campaign; the
concern in RJD-LJP camp has growing thicker. The citadel has not
fallen but its walls have grown weak enough.