A five-party alliance's bid to upstage the Congress in Manipur appears to have been nipped in the bud. The culprits: the Bihar-based chiefs of two of its constituents.
The People's Democratic Front (PDF) was formed on January 2. Led by the regional Manipur People's Front (MPP), its
constituents are the NCP, CPM, JD(U) and RJD. The MPP and NCP had won five seats each in the 2007 election while the RJD won three.
All was going well for PDF until Bihar CM and JD(U) head Nitish Kumar said his party would have no truck with RJD in Manipur. Quid pro quo, retaliated RJD chief Lalu Prasad.
The state units of the two parties have complied with their high command's wish to keep away from each other. "We'll not have any kind of relationship with RJD in the polls," JD(U) Manipur unit president Moirangthem Tombi said. RJD state unit general secretary N Sundari said that their decision to join the opposition front was not to defy their central leadership but owing to the political situation in Manipur.
PDF convener Nimai Chand Luwang remained incommunicado, but a senior MPP leader said the JD(U)-RJD separation would not have any impact on the alliance. "As it is, most of the RJD leaders and supporters have switched over to JD(U)," he said, hinting that the PDF might eventually end up as a four-party alliance.
The Bihar syndrome, it appears, has followed RJD to Manipur.