Uf Sidelining Laloo, Reddy May Return

He is not out, but he is not exactly in either.

The law of diminishing returns appears to have caught up with Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav. This was more than evident at the inauguration of the United Front's office at 9, Akbar Road here yesterday morning. For most of the time, he was sidelined and was given less prominence than he has been used to.

Front watchers immediately drew parallels between his stature at the time when the group was formed in end-May 1996, and now. Earlier, he held the baton and appeared to orchestrate the 13 parties; now he is just one among them, a person whom one cannot avoid.

On the dais, Yadav was sitting on the left of Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. To his right was Mulayam Singh Yadav. Throughout the 90 minutes that they were together, Gowda ignored Yadav, and was seen in close conversation for most of the time with Mulayam Singh Yadav.

There was another indication of Laloo Prasad Yadav's fall from grace within the Front. In the hierarchy of leaders addressed in speeches, Yadav virtually went unmentioned. The speeches almost always began by addressing Gowda, CPI(M) leader H S Surjeet and Front convenor N Chandrababu Naidu. Some added West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu also.

Yadav has also been kept out of a new committee formed. Aware of the need to present a United Front and ensure greater coordination among partners, it was decided to constitute a standing committee.

This panel would also be involved with the day-to-day functioning of the party's office.

The committee headed by Gowda includes Naidu, Surjeet, G K Moopanar, Mulayam Singh Yadav, A B Bardhan, P K Mahanta, Sharad Yadav, Farooq Abdullah and Ram Vilas Paswan.

There were also indications that S Jaipal Reddy would shortly return in his old job of spokesman of the United Front. He had resigned in a huff within weeks of the Front government's formation on being allegedly sidelined. Reddy is also likely to be the Front's central leader functioning from the newly-inaugurated office.