JD presidential poll heightens Laloo-Deve Gowda tussle

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The Laloo Yadav and the Deve Gowda camps in the Janata Dal are once again pitted against each other, this time for the party president's post.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, senior JD leaders said there was nothing in the party constitution that prevented Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav from contesting for the top party post, even if he is chargesheeted in the Rs 9.5 billion fodder scam. However, they feel that Laloo Yadav would ask his associate Sharad Yadav to run for the post for strategic reasons. ''If Sharad is elected, he would enable Laloo Yadav to remote-control the JD affairs,'' they said.

At the other end of the spectrum is former prime minister H D Deve Gowda who is rallying his resources to become the JD president. Considering his running feud with Laloo Yadav in the last few months, it is almost certain that the latter would do everything possible to prevent Deve Gowda's election.

In retaliation, Deve Gowda would scuttle Sharad Yadav's chances, the JD leaders pointed out. If Deve Gowda finds that his prospects are dim, he would press for the election of his close party colleague and Union Railway Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

Significantly, Deve Gowda is sore with the likes of Laloo Yadav and Sharad Yadav for not backing him after Congress president Sitaram Kesri withdrew support to his government. It is learnt that Deve Gowda would harp on the ''north-south'' divide to get some mileage. He has reportedly told Dal MPs from the South that the bullying tactics of the leaders from the North should be stopped if the JD wants to continue as a national outfit. Thus, the poll for the JD presidentship has entered an interesting stage, party officials pointed out.