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The Rediff Special/Amberish K Diwanji

A tale of two iftaar parties

Iftaar is when devout Muslims gather together to break their day's fast in the holy month of Ramzan by partaking of meals in a spirit of amity and faith. But in Delhi, iftaar parties are held by politicians to establish their strength, to see their hold on the land's high and mighty as well as the hoi polloi. Politicians also usually take care to have their iftaar parties on different days so that the people they are wooing don't have to choose between two venues.

That last bit, however, did not happen at the weekend when Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (National Democratic Front) leader and former defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and Congress president Sonia Gandhi both held iftaar parties. And so it came to pass that the two parties became a trial of strength.

The Congress sees itself as a party waiting to form the government. The RLM harbours no such illusions. Its primary aim is to ensure that the Congress will not be able to form the government on its own, and also to keep its bases in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar intact, especially because the Congress is now working to regain its hold on those states.

The iftaar party hosted by Mulayam Singh, president of the Samajwadi Party and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, was somewhat smaller than that of Gandhi, but boasted of the presence of some top politicians, including former prime minister Chandra Shekhar and Janata Party leader Dr Subramanian Swamy.

The star of the day, however, was former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Laloo Prasad Yadav, who is currently out on bail in the Rs 9.5 billion fodder scandal.

Laloo Yadav, chief of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, was mobbed by the crowd that had turned up for the party. And in an occurrence that political observers strained to read meaning into, Communist Party of India-Marxist politburo member Sitaram Yechuri and Communist Party of India chief Ardhendu Bardhan were present on the occasion to meet and chat with him.

"Please don't read anything into this meeting," Yechuri said, adding, "This is just a social occasion and the CPI-M was invited by Mulayam with whom we have excellent relations, so I have attended."

The question on everyone's mind was whether the iftaar party would lead to the formation of the much-talked-about 'Third Front'. It must be noted that so far the CPI-M has insisted that Laloo Yadav can have no role in the front, given the fact that he is facing corruption charges in court.

"We have made our position clear about Laloo Yadav's role in a third front," Yechuri said. "However, these are issues that the CPI-M politburo will discuss and decide upon in case of any development."

Laloo Yadav patiently posed with students and party supporters for photographs. When a student leader invited him to the Aligarh Muslim University, he promised to make the trip, then quipped, "Actually, I am keen to visit you people, but every time I make my travel plans, the CBI puts me in jail!" provoking much laughter.

The former Bihar chief minister was also optimistic about the Third Front. "The fact that all of us are here together is a good sign and I am sure the goodwill generated will take us further," he said. "Just wait and see!"

Bardhan said much the same thing. "Don't be in a hurry to see the Third Front form," he said. "These things take time and will happen slowly."

The politicians at Mulayam Singh's party were also asking how the other iftaar party was turning out. Chandra Shekhar had no need to ask, because he dashed straight from Mulayam Singh's do to Sonia Gandhi's bash.

Gandhi's party was slightly bigger and certainly more stiff and formal. While at the Yadav show politicians went around meeting and mingling freely with the people and the media, the Congress president and her senior colleagues stayed aloof, not even allowing the media anywhere near them. Gandhi, however, did go out to greet the many people who had trudged miles to see her and present her with shawls, but her strong security detail ensured that no one got too close to her.

Besides Chandra Shekhar, CPI leader and former Union home minister Indrajit Gupta was present at the party, with Ram Vilas Paswan and Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal, who are now arch-rivals of the Mulayam Singh-Laloo Yadav combine. Then there were the new chief ministers, Ashok Gehlot of Rajasthan and Sheila Dixit of Delhi, as well as many of the known Sonia Gandhi acolytes.

But why an iftaar party on the same day? "It just happened to turn out on the same day," said a Congress politician. Yet, the absence of Mulayam Singh and Laloo Yadav, both of whom were till recently vociferously championing the cause of a Congress-led government replacing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition, did raise eyebrows.

The Congress politician explained the rationale: "Sonia Gandhi is just seeing how far she can go without taking the support of any of the other parties. She sees no point in forming a coalition government dependent on difficult allies."

The two parties may just have been a case of bad timing. On the other hand, the fact that neither side was willing to accommodate the other by changing the date perhaps shows that the RLM is now no longer going to bank on the Congress to pull down the BJP-led government. Rather, it is preparing to fight both the BJP and the Congress.

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