Dubbing the emerging Janata Parivar of six parties a “misleading family affair,” Lok Janshakti Party chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Saturday said “if at all it takes shape, the Yadav troika — Mulayam Singh, Lalu Prasad and Sharad Yadav — will take the lead, while Nitish Kumar and others will be left behind”.
“I have a serious doubts whether the erstwhile Janata Parivar will be formalised, but even it takes shape, the top leaders of the six constituents will start squabbling over leadership and in that situation, the Yadav troika will take the lead,” the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution told mediapersons.
Citing his experience of working with Mr. Prasad and Mr. Kumar, the LJP chief claimed that they could not transfer votes to each other’s candidate in the elections. “I have worked with both of them and I can say one will not allow the other to prosper after the merger.”
Mr. Paswan who was part of the UPA with Mr. Prasad and Mr. Kumar, termed RJD chief a “wily politician”. “I have been a victim of his machinations on a few occasions. “Lalu Prasad [after his conviction in the fodder scam] is not in the race of being CM and he will not allow Nitish Kumar to don the mantle.”
“They miserably failed to open account in the just concluded Jharkhand Assembly elections,” Mr. Paswan said.
"Modi, BJP not involved in Ghar vapsi"
On the ghar vapsi programme, the Union Minister said neither the Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor the BJP had anything to do with it.
“There is nothing wrong in changing one’s faith by choice, but not under force or allurement,” Mr Paswan said.
Emerging from a meeting of his party’s political advisory committee on Saturday, senior Mr. Kumar, the JD (U) leader, said the Janata Parivar would be declared after the merger.
