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Friday, Apr 10, 2009
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We will decide: Mulayam, Lalu, Paswan

Atiq Khan

Lalu hails union of “three brothers”; Paswan says he and Lalu are firmly behind Mulayam

— Photo: Special Arrangement

GROUNDSWELL: Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and Lok Jan Shakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan at an election meeting at Safai in Etawah constituency, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday.

LUCKNOW: In a show of strength by non-Congress, non-BJP and non-BSP parties – the first of its kind after the disintegration of the Janata Dal – Mulayam Singh, Lalu Prasad and Ram Vilas Paswan made it clear at a rally that they will play a decisive role in the formation of the next government at the Centre.

The public meeting was held in Mr. Singh’s backyard of Saifai in his home district of Etawah in Uttar Pradesh.

The former Chief Minister shared a common platform with his colleagues in the erstwhile Janata Dal, who were now among the most influential leaders of the “cow belt.”

Allowing Mr. Prasad and Mr. Paswan to take centre-stage in his native village, the Samajwadi Party chief said the next government at the Centre cannot be formed without their support. The three had come together to wage a struggle for the farmers, labourers and minorities, Dalits, Backward Classes and other deprived sections of society.

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Mr. Prasad said the Congress was not contesting the elections with the aim of winning. It was more interested in strengthening itself in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. He thanked Mr. Singh for saving the UPA government during the trust vote in Parliament over the nuclear deal with the United States in July last.

Mr. Prasad hailed the union of “three brothers.” They had joined forces not only to win the Lok Sabha polls, but also to wage a war against communalism and demolish the communal forces.

He scoffed at the prime ministerial ambitions of BJP leader L.K. Advani. Though he was not a soothsayer, he would say that Mr. Advani’s wish is unlikely to be fulfilled.

Lok Jan Shakti Party leader Mr. Paswan asserted that he and Mr. Prasad were firmly behind the Samajwadi Party president.

He took a dig at the BJP’s temple agenda, saying it excelled in negative politics.

Training his guns on Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati, Mr. Paswan termed her Dalit agenda eyewash. The condition of Dalits had deteriorated in the BSP regime, he alleged.

The rally was the first of the four meetings addressed by Mr. Singh, Mr. Prasad and Mr. Paswan in U.P. on Thursday. After Saifai, they addressed rallies in Bareilly, Gorakhpur and Varanasi.

Similar rallies are planned in Kanpur, Lucknow and in Bihar.

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