CALCUTTA, 2 May 2005 — Meira Kumar, federal minister and daughter of Jagjivan Ram, could well become the next chief minister of Bihar, according to sources.
Kumar’s name was first mooted by her Congress party to bring together the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Lok Janshakti Party to break the deadlock over government formation in Bihar which is currently under president’s rule.
Apparently, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan have agreed in principle to support a coalition government headed by Kumar.
So far, neither RJD nor LJP have officially accepted Kumar as the consensus candidate but Ramchandra Paswan, brother of Rim Vilas Paswan, said Saturday that RJD and LJP had buried their differences to install an elected government in Bihar.
President’s rule was imposed on the eastern province on March 7 after no political party or a coalition could muster the numbers required for a majority in the state assembly. Ironically, Kumar has emerged as the consensus candidate because she is a political lightweight. Neither Lalu nor Paswan see her as a threat in the short or long term. Moreover, Congress has so few MLAs that she will be totally dependent on LJP and RJD for her survival.
Currently, Kumar is the minister for social justice and empowerment in the United Progressive Alliance government and is reportedly in Sonia Gandhi’s good books.
Like Mayawati, Kumar belongs to the untouchable chamar (cobbler) caste and Congress is keen to project her as a counterfoil to the Bahujan Samaj Party leader.
Paswan is backing Kumar shedding his earlier insistence on a Muslim chief minister. Ironically, there is not a single Muslim LJP lawmaker.
Sources said Paswan rooted for federal minister Shakeel Ahmed and Nationalist Congress Party leader, Tariq Anwar, as chief minister but somehow their candidature fell through.
Paswan also had no reservations about accepting RJD’s Abdul Bari Siddiqui as chief minister but Lalu put his foot down. Lalu also vetoed the candidature of RJD leader and federal minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh.
Congress’ Sadanand Singh — former speaker of the Bihar Assembly — was also in the reckoning but opposition by an influential central Congress leader close to Gandhi sealed his fate. Ramchandra Paswan said “when there is a UPA government in New Delhi comprising RJD and LJP it makes perfect sense for the two constituents to join hands in Bihar.” If Kumar ultimately becomes the chief minister, it will be a major setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (United) combine which did everything possible to keep RJD and LJP apart. Sources said Sonia worked quietly behind the scenes to break the stalemate in the politically significant province.
