RJD chief Lalu Prasad is contemplating to field his daughter Misa Bharati from Yadav-dominated Madhepura constituency as per his plan to teach his friend-turned-foe JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav a lesson. Sources close to Lalu say that neither the RJD chief nor his wife Rabri Devi are inclined to contest Lok Sabha elections in 2014. Instead, they want to pass on the baton to the next generation. So, while Misa – named because of her birth during the Emergency while Lalu was jailed under MISA (the now defunct Maintenance of Internal Security Act) – might be pitted from Madhepura, son Tejaswi Pratap might carry forward Lalu’s legacy in Saran. Lalu had defeated BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Saran in the last polls. Madhepura has over four lakh Yadav votes. “Rome Pope ka, Madhepura Gope ka (Rome belongs to the Pope and Madhepura to the Yadavs,” goes the saying about the north Bihar constituency. Incidentally, Sharad Yadav had defeated Lalu in the 1999 elections and Lalu wants to avenge that defeat.
Lalu wants a tie-up with the Congress and Ramvilas Paswan’s LJP on the pattern of 2004 Lok Sabha polls. He is prepared to give more seats to the Congress. In the 2009 elections, the Congress-RJD alliance snapped as Lalu had offered just a handful of seats to the Congress. This time, both Lalu and Rabri want to focus on electioneering and have decided to not contest the polls.