Miffed Lalu aide Ramkirpal Yadav quits party posts

LJP invites him into the NDA fold

With RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav giving weightage to family over party loyalists, longtime aide Ramkirpal Yadav today resigned from all party posts. Ramkirpal Yadav was denied the Patliputra seat and had to make way for Misa Bharti, Lalu Yadav's daughter. Ramkirpal's resignation from party posts was accompanied with much drama over the past 24 hours, however he added that he was still in the party "as of now". Speculation is rife that Ramkirpal could be headed to the BJP. LJP's Ramvilas Paswan, (the new ally of the BJP) did not lose the opportunity to take a jab at Lalu Yadav by extending an invitation to "friend" Ramkirpal.

Matters came to a head after, Misa Bharti was declared candidate for the Patliputra seat and Ramkirpal made public his displeasure. Lalu Yadav's daughter rushed to the capital on Friday to placate him. Ramkirpal avoided meeting her, keeping Misa waiting for over five hours. With Ramkirpal disparaging her attempts, an angry Misa today lashed out at him in Patna, "Opposing a woman and calling her efforts 'nautanki' (drama) on International Women's Day today is an insult to women."

RJD chief Lalu Yadav meanwhile made clear that Misa Bharti would not be vacating the Patliputra seat.

Ramkirpal Yadav is currently a Rajya Sabha member and a three-timeLok Sabha MP from Patna.He said he was still in the party and has not quit the Rajya Sabha. Accusing theparty of betraying the principles of social justice, he alleged it was now interestedin "family justice".Ramkirpal today addressed a press conference in the capital stating that he decided to quit party posts with a "heavy heart." He described Misa's visit yesterday as "emotional drama."

LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan meanwhile responding to the events in home state Bihar said, "Ram Kripal ji a very good leader. He was a very senior leader of RJD... If a person like him was humiliated there, you can well imagine what happened to LJP. He was like a family member (for Lalu Prasad). We were just a party." He invited him to join the LJP or even the NDA family by being a member of the BJP.

Constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap when contacted clarified that a sitting MP would first need to resign before joining another party other wise he would subject himself to disqualification.

The Ramkirpal Yadav story, say political pundits, is far from over. More will follow as political dealings are settled.