Four Reasons Lalu Should Not Promote His Son(s)

He may not admit this publicly, but Lalu appears to be caught on the horns of a dilemma, writes Neena Choudhary.

After the landslide victory of the Grand Alliance, all eyes are on who will lead the Rashtriya Janata Dal Legislature Party (RJDLP). Will it be either of Lalu Prasad’s two sons – Tej Pratap and Tejaswi Yadav – both of whom have made their début this Assembly election? Or could it be Lalu’s old war horse and the most prominent Muslim face of the party, Abdul Bari Siddiqui?

The majority of the 80 newly-elected RJD MLAs, who attended the first formal meeting of the Rashtriya Janata Dal Legislature Party on Friday, preferred not to take sides. It was eventually left to party president Lalu Prasad Yadav to take a decision on who will be the leader of the RJDLP.

Though he may not admit this publicly, Lalu appears to be in a dilemma – whether to choose a credible Muslim face or prop up someone from his community, preferably a young Yadav, as the new leader. And if it has to be a Yadav, why not his son?

The Muslim & Yadav Factor

Before arriving at any decision, a mature politician like Lalu will have to take into account the fact that out of the 80 MLAs who won on RJD tickets, 42 are Yadavs while 12 others are Muslims. These two sections (Muslims and Yadavs) have been Lalu’s core support base and till the time they stood by him, no one could dislodge him – from 1990 to 2005.

In 2015, when these two sections threw their weight behind Lalu once again, the RJD emerged as the single largest party in the 243-member Assembly. Therefore, it’s time for Lalu to show pragmatism and avoid elevating either of his sons, Tejaswi or Tej Pratap, to the post of RJDLP leader. He should also not lobby for either of them to be appointed as deputy CM.

This will not only enhance Lalu’s stature, but will also signal that he is ready to think beyond his family. Not everyone has forgotten how he pulled out Rabri Devi from the kitchen and made her Bihar’s chief minister in 1997 before being sent to jail in the fodder scam.

Ghar Ki Baat

If he avoids making his son the RJDLP leader, it will help him avoid internal dissensions too. By promoting one son, he will end up displeasing the other two heirs apparent – the other son and daughter Misa Bharti, the latter is believed to have more political acumen.

Time for Gratification

If Lalu takes a prudent decision to make Abdul Bari Siddiqui, who was a minister and leader of the Opposition when Nitish was chief minister (before the BJP became the principal Opposition party), the leader of the RJDLP, it will be Lalu’s way of expressing gratitude to the 16.5 per cent Muslim electorate who reposed their confidence in him.

Making Life Easy for Nitish

By choosing Siddiqui as the RJDLP leader, Lalu will make things easier for Nitish too, as the latter enjoys a good working relationship with the senior Muslim leader. This will help Nitish – who abhors promoting family – avoid a Catch-22 situation as he may not be charged with promoting nepotism right at the start of a fresh inning as Bihar chief minister.

Till then, Lalu’s kin, both débutante MLAs, could gain some legislative experience and get ready for the next leap.

(The writer is a Bihar-based journalist.)