TOI
 
New Delhi, Mar 22: RJD supremo Lalu Prasad on Saturday broke his silence on Bihar upheaval and signalled snapping of ties with Congress marking the unravelling of the UPA in a state which it swept the last time, in what could potentially set the stage for the Congress-led combine's slide in the war of perceptions ahead of Lok Sabha polls.

A stung Lalu Prasad reacted angrily to Congress embracing his rebel brother-in-law Sadhu who met Sonia Gandhi in the morning, ridiculing its demand for more than three seats given to it as divorced from ground realities. An angry Lalu said Congress was preparing for 2014 elections.

The RJD strongman, who has another UPA ally, Ramvilas Paswan, on his side, also confirmed that he has firmed up plans for a joint campaign with Mulayam Singh Yadav which could lead to the formation of a new "secular' bloc aligned neither to Congress nor the Third Front and which could influence the post-poll sweepstakes.

The estrangement, which is a blow to Congress's chances of retaining the leadership of the next coalition at the Centre, coincided with its deepening worries over the outcome of alliance talks in Tamil Nadu, with growing indications that PMK may go with the AIADMK.

Whether the loss of the Vanniyar outfit would be compensated by the induction of actor Vijaykant's DMDK in the Congress-DMK alliance was an open question. But Congress suddenly appeared to be losing the edge it appeared to have had in the game of alliance in a manner reminiscent of the way NDA frittered away its edge five years ago.

The perception that the 2009 contest could go to the wire was reinforced by RJD's decision to field four candidates -- two more than Congress had left for it - in Jharkhand, and the dissension in the Rajasthan coalition, with Meena leader Kirorilal suddenly upping his ante.

In a serious upping of ante by RJD, Lalu on Saturday afternoon dismissed speculation that he had sought time from Sonia Gandhi to defuse the situation. In fact, he charged that Sonia was being misled by her advisors whom he derisively referred to as "munshis, managers and think-tanks".

While the former Bihar chief minister claimed he was still part of UPA and was not resigning as railways minister, there was no mistaking the all-out war between two staunch allies who have been the biggest stabilising agents in the Manmohan Singh regime. In fact, Lalu said almost as much. "We are in a war," he said as he refused to concede even one seat.

While this creates the real risk of Congress drawing a blank, the latter was on a warpath. AICC pointsperson Sushil Kumar Shinde announced that Congress would contest all but three of the 40 seats which include two from which Lalu plans to contest and one against LJP chief Paswan.

The Saturday faceoff completed the unravelling of UPA in Bihar which started with RJD and LJP apportioning 37 of 40 seats among themselves earlier this week. While it was speculated that Lalu Prasad may step up to bring about a rapprochement, his no-holds-barred press conference has queered the pitch for peace-hopefuls.

The decision to induct Sadhu Yadav, who is seen by many as symbolizing the wrongs associated with Lalu-Rabri raj, pointed to its intent. The party was clearly not concerned about the damage to its own credentials.

The Congress bravado is dictated by the calculations that both Yadav leaders are weak on their home turfs and unexpected to return figures which would make them a dominant voice in future politics of a secular formation.

While the estimate may not be too much off the mark as per indications, Congress strategists are unlikely to be comforted by the fact that bitterness among allies in UP and Bihar seems to have provided a readymade platform for `secular' parties looking for a foothold with greater bargaining space. The post-poll scenario could be volatile if Congress fails to score a big enough tally to secure its position as leader of the anti-NDA alliance.

In such a situation, NCP chief Sharad Pawar is another player whose post-poll movements are speculated to be on the anti-Congress axis while, sources said, leadership of PMK is open to siding with parties rooting for a government not led by Congress.

In fact, even the CPM, which is the author of the Third Front, has made it clear that it would not mind seeking support from Congress for forming the next government.

While debates over positioning for power in 2009 seems confined to "secular fold'', be it UPA or a ginger UPA group or the third front, the squabbles within the Congress-led bloc are sure to warm the cockles of NDA as they compromise the advantage Congress had logged over BJP in alliance-making.