NEW DELHI, Feb 27: India's fragile coalition government was rocked by adverse polls results on Sunday in Bihar and Jharkhand states after three important allies dragged each other away from possible victory
and the squabble appeared to be shaping for a showdown with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress Party.
Bihar's ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav lost its majority in an assembly contest in which the Congress also did not do well. Taunting them was the impressive gains made by Dalit leader and Coal Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, a rival of Mr Yadav.
In neighbouring Jharkhand, designated as a tribal state, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and ally in the Manmnohan Singh ministry, lost its chance to thrown out the Bharatiya Janata Party because of a similar squabbling.
Prime Minister Singh has a wafer-thin majority in the Lok Sabha, in which Mr Yadav controls 25 seats. Mr Yadav is now expected to mount pressure on Mr Paswan, through Dr Singh, to let his party continue in power in Bihar.
The Congress won a resounding victory in Haryana, the third state in the fray, but that is not likely to ease its arriving difficulties in the turbulence ahead. In Bihar, which has a 243-member legislature, Mr Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal could win only 78 seats.
Mr Paswan has got 28 very crucial seats, the Congress I and other parties, including the left groups around 35 seats. The BJP led alliance got 91 seats in Bihar, well short of a majority.
In Jharkhand's 81-seat house, the BJP-led ruling alliance has secured 36 seats, while the Congress backed Jharkhand Mukti Morcha alliance trailed with just 26. Mr Yadav's RJD, which proved to be the spoiler for the UPA, won seven seats. Most of the remaining 12 seats were bagged by a combination of leftist groups.
In Haryana, the Congress routed the Indian National Lok Dal-led ruling coalition with 67 seats in the 90-member house. INLD was reduced to nine and the BJP got just two seats.
