UF heaves a sigh of relief; Gujral pleased as Laloo catches critics napping

The United Front leadership on Friday heaved a sigh of relief that their month-long efforts to pressurise Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Laloo Prasad Yadav to step down as Bihar chief minister had at last succeeded.

Laloo Yadav's resignation has strengthened the UF constituents like the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham and the Tamil Manila Congress which have been clamouring that the RJD should not be kept out. The Left parties have made their position clear that they would not be averse to the RJD's entry if Yadav stepped down.

Even Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral seems happy with the move as Laloo Yadav's move ensures his continuity at the Centre.

It now remains to be seen whether a section of the Janata Dal, which was totally opposed to Laloo Yadav, would support the RJD's entry into the coalition. These sections have been saying that Laloo Yadav, who had split the Janata Dal, should have no place in the Front.

The Front's standing committee meeting, convened to discuss the contentious RJD entry issue, skipped the subject and decided to take it up in the second session of the committee on Friday night.

Later in the day, the Front welcomed Laloo Yadav's decision to resign. ''We are happy that he had resigned on moral grounds heeding our request,'' said UF spokesman S Jaipal Reddy.

After Yadav's resignation, Front convenor N Chandrababu Naidu had an hour-long meeting with Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet. Sources said they assessed the prospects of the RJD's entry into the Front.

As for the reasons which prompted Laloo Yadav to step down, it has been said he took the decision to avoid humiliation. But he will continue to rule the volatile state through remote-control -- his wife Rabri Devi [extreme right] is the new chief minister.

According to officials at Bihar Bhavan in New Delhi, Laloo Yadav had been pondering over this ''wise move'' for some time now, especially after his lawyers told the RJD chief that his arrest in the fodder scam was imminent.

However, he chose to maintain the facade of a ''fighter'' -- ''I will not resign,'' he kept saying -- to mislead his detractors who were striving for his political marginalisation.

Besides catching his critics unawares with his move, Laloo Yadav has emerged a winner, the officials said.

As there is scant evidence against the former chief minister, the courts are bound to acquit him, when he will be reinstated. Moreover, Laloo Yadav feels that his resignation has won him a groundswell of sympathy and support among his well-wishers.

UNI and Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi