By IANS,
Ranchi : Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren surprised many as he bent down to touch Railways Minister Lalu Prasad’s feet and sought his blessings after the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief helped him ensure the numbers to form the next government in the state.
Soren, much elder to Lalu, became emotional after handing over the letter of support from 42 legislators to Governor Syed Sibte Razi.
After all, it was the maverick politician who had helped Soren to realise his long cherished dream of becoming chief minister again – after his first term in March 2005 ended in 10 days.
When Soren expressed his wish after supporting the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in the July 22 trust vote, Lalu Prasad was initially opposed to the move. However, he came out in Soren’s support after Congress president Sonia Gandhi expressed her support to the JMM chief.
Playing the role of crisis manager, Lalu Prasad arrived here to win over outgoing chief minister Madhu Koda, who was unhappy at being asked to step down in Soren’s favour.
Lalu Prasad met Koda and not only convinced him to support Soren but got him to accompany the JMM chief in visiting the Raj Bhavan.
With this, the two leaders seem to have buried the hatchet. When Soren, contrary to expectations, was not inducted in the central ministry allegedly due to crime cases against him, he had pointed out that Lalu Prasad too was facing trial for the fodder scam and the RJD chief had shot back pointing to criminal cases against the JMM leader.