Paswan tries to rope Kanshi Ram's BSP,
Athawale's RPI into 'dalit front'
Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi
Janata Dal politician Ram Vilas Paswan is joining hands with Kanshi Ram of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Ramdas Athawale of the Republican Party of India to form a "dalit front".
Paswan, arch foe of Rashtriya Janata Dal president Laloo Prasad Yadav, suggested the idea after the former Bihar chief minister challenged his claim to being the leader of Bihar's dalits.
Paswan had opposed the Janata Dal's official line and supported the imposition of President's rule in Bihar. He had even resigned as leader of the JD Parliamentary Party on the issue.
The upshot was that while his party colleagues like former prime ministers H D Deve Gowda and Inder Kumar Gujral voted to oppose central rule, Paswan voted in its favour, thus worsening his feud with Laloo Yadav.
While the reinstatement of Chief Minister Rabri Devi came as a personal victory for Laloo Yadav, it pushed Paswan to the margin in an already marginalised Dal, forcing him to look for fresh political pastures. Hence his renewed zeal to form a dalit front.
Paswan got a boost when BSP chief Kanshi Ram supported President's rule in Bihar. While this was bad news for Laloo Yadav and others in the Opposition, it came as a blessing for Paswan who was desperately searching for like-minded non-BJP politicians to take on the RJD chief in Bihar.
According to BSP officials in Delhi, Kanshi Ram views favourably Paswan's proposal for a dalit front. He has already begun touring Uttar Pradesh, his primary base, to mobilise dalits and a section of the Muslims.
Kanshi Ram's main foe in Uttar Pradesh is Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which claims a fair bit of the dalit and Muslim votes and partners the RJD in the Rashtriya Loktrantrik Morcha (National Democratic Front). Through the dalit front, Kanshi Ram hopes to whittle down Mulayam Singh's base.
Paswan has also been encouraged by Athawale, whose RPI has a significant base in Maharashtra. But the going there will not be quite so easy, as the RPI is split into antagonistic factions. Indeed, while Athawale has supported Paswan's bid, R S Gavai, leader of the RPI in the Lok Sabha, said he was unaware of any such proposal.
According to Paswan's followers in the capital, he has also sounded out Jharkhand Regional Congress leader Sushila Kirkita, ex-MP, to try and bring about an amalgamation of dalits, the backward classes and tribals. While she gave Paswan a patient hearing, she did not reveal her mind.
Devdas Apte, chairman of the BJP's backward and tribal cell, said he had heard about the plan to form a dalit front, adding, "It will be a good thing if the dalits come forward to fight suppression and oppression by unscrupulous political entities." Apte also indicated his party would support the front when it comes into existence.
ALSO SEE:
Paswan hints at new alternative to RJD
Tell us what you think of this report
|
