Laloo's victory silences critics, RJD may enter UF

The Rashtriya Janata Dal government won the vote of confidence in the Bihar assembly on Tuesday, delivering a body blow to Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav's detractors and brightening the new party's chances of getting a berth in the United Front.

Laloo Yadav's victory proves that he still exercises considerable political clout despite his detractors's designs to marginalise him.

Significantly, the victory also brings some relief for Prime Minister I K Gujral whose efforts to accommodate the RJD in the UF have been stalled by the Left parties and the Sharad Yadav-Deve Gowda-Ram Vilas Paswan faction of the Janata Dal. They have been demanding Laloo Yadav's resignation as Bihar chief minister who had been chargesheeted in the Rs 9.5 billion fodder scam.

As a majority of the UF constituents desire an amicable solution to the ongoing crisis, the Front's steering committee meeting is likely to thrash out the contentious issues on Thursday, July 17. The DMK has already expressed its support to Laloo Yadav.

According to a senior JD official, Laloo Yadav's victory has boosted his political standing. The fact that the Congress came to his rescue by abstaining from voting in the Bihar assembly proves that a Sitaram Kesri-Laloo Yadav understanding exists.

The UF constituents, particularly the Left parties, are apprehensive that if Laloo Yadav is alienated, he may support Kesri's bid to capture power at the Centre.