Janata Dal(United) President Sharad Yadav will be spending almost a week in Patna in a bid to resolve problems within the party ahead of both the biennial Rajya Sabha elections and the general elections to the State Assembly later in the year.
Mr. Yadav told journalists that he would be going to Patna on Monday but refused to divulge the reasons for his visits and who all he would be meeting and with what purpose.
The JD(U) chief is apparently on a fire fighting mission following the Kisan mahapanchayat that detractors of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held recently at Patna accusing him of being anti-farmer. Those who attende0d the meeting included the former Bihar unit chief Rajiv Ranjan alias Lallan Kumar, MP, and former MP Prabhunath Singh, among others.
A section of JD(U) leaders are keenly reading Mr. Yadav's role in the current tussle as he was at logger heads with Mr. Kumar on the issue of the Women's Reservation Bill.
While Mr. Kumar favoured it, Mr. Yadav opposed it demanding that quotas be given to women of SC, ST and OBCs within the quota.
There was a virtual revolt in the parliamentary party with most of the Lok Sabha members supporting Mr. Yadav defying Mr. Kumar openly. But both of them maintained that their difference was one of perception on the issue and nothing else hampered their relations.
Grudge
But leaders like Lallan Singh and Prabhunath Singh have been carrying a grudge against Mr. Kumar for sometime now and almost had garnered sufficient numbers to cause a split in the parliamentary party.
According to sources Mr. Yadav might seek to reason with Mr. Kumar to placate Mr. Prabhunath Singh by giving him a berth in the Rajya Sabha, the biennial elections for which are due.
It remains to be seen how Mr. Kumar and Mr. Yadav utilise the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha and the State Legislative Council to buy peace with each other and the detractors going ahead for the main battle later in October-November when the Assembly elections will be held.
Replying to a question, Mr. Yadav maintained that the elections would be held on time saying that there was no question of advancing the electoral process.
