Patna: After being political partners for too long, two Yadav titans of the Indian cow-belt, Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad are now set to enter into a “matrimonial alliance” that is likely to give a boost to their fast-declining political career.
Both the leaders are now facing strong challenges coming from the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
As per various media reports, SP chief’s grand nephew Tej Pratap is to tie the knot with RJD chief’s youngest daughter Raj Lakshmi. Although it has not been officially announced, informed sources say their engagement ceremony may be held in December with a lavish wedding planned for February.
Raj Lakshmi was born while he took over as chief minister of Bihar in 1990. Tej Pratap, on the other hand, has only just entered the parliament from the family stronghold, the Manipuri Lok Sabha seat that the SP chief vacated.
The move is being seen as a desperate attempt by the mighty Yadav leaders to revive their fortune by formally cementing family ties.
Yadav’s SP currently rules Uttar Pradesh whereas Bihar has been the stronghold of Prasad’s RJD, which was pushed out of power in 2005 after 15 years of uninterrupted rule. The twin states comprise 120 Lok Sabha seats, and have always been a deciding factor in Indian politics.
At one point of time, both the parties would call the shots in their respective states but in the last Lok Sabha polls, they suffered severe setbacks owing to the strong Narendra Modi wave sweeping across the country. While the SP could win only five Lok Sabha seats out of a total of 80, the RJD was declared victorious from four seats.
Observers say their coming together would also put an end to their bitter past. The two Yadav titans had fallen apart during the 1990 due to political ambitions and personal egos.
Yadav has publicly said Prasad played spoilsport with his prime ministerial ambition when his name was being actively debated for the country’s top job during the United Front government in 1997. Yadav was set to take over as the prime minister when Congress forced HD Deve Gowda out but Prasad reportedly opposed his name, leading to the coronation of IK Gujaral.
The relations nose-dived further when the SP fielded its candidates in the recent Lok Sabha and assembly polls in Bihar, only benefiting Prasad’s rivals. But recent drubbings in the Lok Sabha polls have forced them to come together and do something concrete to stay afloat to offset the BJP’s wave. They first met in New Delhi earlier this month to discuss the merger of parties from the old Janata Dal family. The meeting was held at the residence of SP chief Yadav.