Infighting in Janata Dal(U) intensifies

Faction feuds seem to be breaking out in the Janata Dal (United)""a crucial alliance partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar""following the decision of Defence Minister George Fernandes to shift his constituency from the Kurmi-dominated Nalanda to Muzaffarpur.

Fernandes' move is seen as a strategy to come out of the shadow of the Kurmi politics symbolised by Railway Minister Nitish Kumar.

In Nalanda constituency, Fernandes was identified so much with the Kurmi caste that he even acquired a surname "Mahto" to identify his affiliation to Kurmis.

But the decision to shift constituency by Fernandes has exposed chinks in the JD(U)'s armour. Kumar who has been contesting from Barh Lok Sabha seat is tipped to be contesting from Nalanda as well as the caste composition of the constituency will enable Kumar to win the seat easily. Kumar just scraped through from Barh in 1999 and his position is stated to be precarious this time as well.

Of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, the JD(U) will contest 24 while the BJP will put up candidate on the remaining 20 seats. The JD(U) led by Fernandes-Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav is confined to a Bihar-centric political party, which has a limited area of influence.

But the coalition forged by Rashtryia Janata Dal (RJD) chief Laloo Prasad Yadav with the Congress and the Lok Jantantrik Party (LJP) of Ram Vilas Paswan has effectively consolidated his position in the caste-ridden politics of the state.

Fernandes is learnt to have shifted his constituency in a tactful manner to shed his identification with a caste.

The merger of the Samata Party and Sharad Yadav's JD(U) was also a calculated move to co-opt various social groups. But Nitish loyalists see all this as an attempt to marginalise Kumar in the state's politics.

Though Kumar has firmly ruled out the possibility of contesting from the two seats, Fernandes' decision appears to have further deepened his rift with Kumar who runs the risk of being isolated and reduced to a Kurmi leader if he chooses to contest from Nalanda.

On the other hand, Fernandes who represented Muzaffarpur several times between 1977 and 1991 will be able to outgrow his image of a politician who does not have a base.

This is why Fernandes has forged an alliance with the BJP in his home state""Karnataka where the JD(U) will be contesting four Lok Sabha seats and 25 Assembly seats.

Given the BJP's expanding support base in the state, Fernandes loyalists feel that if the JD(U) could win any of these seats, it will help the party to grow out of its Bihar-centric image.

In the post-poll scenario, Fernandes is keen to be projected as a leader of a party whose area of influence is not confined to Bihar only.

Sources in the party admit that in the era of coalition, Fernandes has also realized the significance of regional parties and maintained his own relationship with the Samajwadi Party, the DMK and even the Telugu Desam Party.