Jd Split Complicates Equations At Centre, Bihar & Karnataka

The Janata Dal conundrum is set to throw up some bizarre situations in the post-split scenario.

The Union ministers with Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav will no more be part of the Janata Dal, but will continue in the I K Gujral government.

The Laloo Yadav government in Bihar may continue in office with the support of Congress and other MLAs.

The split will not have any effect on the J H Patel government in Karnataka, but the state unit of the Janata Dal will have technically split.

Laloo Yadav yesterday announced that a one-day convention will be held here on July 5, when the split is expected to be formalised. He was busy contacting state leaders of Janata Dal, and seeking their participation in the meet. More than half of the 45 Janata Dal MPs boycotted the party presidents election, ensuring that Laloo Yadav would have no problems securing the support of the required one-third members in the parliamentary party.

Senior Karnataka leader Ramakrishna Hegde is certain to attend, but he has made it clear he would not merge his party with Laloo Yadavs new party. If Laloo Yadavs party desires to have an electoral tie-up, we will consider

that, Hegde said yesterday. He said he had predicted the break-up of the party long back. Let them fight among themselves to the finish, he quipped.

Efforts continued to bolster the strength of Laloo Yadav supporters. Loyalist Ram Kripal Yadav met Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma and requested him to take cognizance of the Janata Dal president revoking the expulsion of Menaka Gandhi from the party. Technically, Laloo Yadav is the party president until the formal announcement of Sharad Yadavs election.

Laloo Yadav arrived in the capital yesterday, and declared that there was no question of a split. Where is the split. We are the party and I am the president, he remarked. He said he would have talks with like-minded leaders from other states to give a fitting reply to those seeking to split the party.

He claimed the party would remain intact though some fake leaders would find themselves isolated and out of the party.