Will Lalu cleverly manoeuvre Owaisi's googly or fall into the trap?

New Delhi: Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) seems to have put Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad in a fix by expressing its willingness to join the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) in Bihar.

This appears to be a part of Owaisi's well-calculated move and well-thought-out strategy that has visibly given a shock treatment to the constituents of both the opposition mahagathbandhan and the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Obviously, Owaisi is desperately trying to get rid of the BJP's B-team tag, a badge of honour that has resulted in a huge dip in his popularity among young Muslims. This branding has visibly created a massive dent in his core voter base outside Hyderabad.

By writing to Lalu, he has sought to kill all birds with one stone.

Lalu is now in a dilemma. If he agrees to include the AIMIM in mahagathbandhan, he will have to encounter both internal and external challenges.

The Congress, another key component of the mahagathbandhan, will be wary of such a move given Owaisi's consistent criticism of the party.

On the external front, the ruling coalition is expected to make it an election issue and brand the mahagathbandhan as a pro-Muslim grouping, making it extremely difficult for Lalu or his son Tejashwi difficult to defend the move.

And if he rejects the offer, Owaisi is expected to campaign extensively against the opposition alliance, labelling it as anti-Muslim and the one that only believes in doing only lip-service and nothing substantial for the welfare of the minority community.

Owaisi will also be fully justified in fielding his candidates against the mahagathbandhan nominees, thus causing a split in the anti-NDA votes. That will be a huge advantage to the ruling alliance.

In his letter to Lalu dated July 2, AIMIM's Bihar unit president Akhtarul Iman has precisely stated this by categorically claiming that the inclusion of his party in the mahagathbandhan will prevent a split in secular votes.

"This will ensure that the next government in Bihar is formed by the mahagathbandhan", Iman has claimed, adding that his party had tried to join the coalition in the last assembly polls, too.

Iman further said that this time too Owaisi has already expressed his wish to leaders of the Congress and the Left over the phone.

In the 2020 assembly elections, the AIMIM contested in alliance with former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the now-defunct Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) headed by former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, who is now in the NDA.

The AIMIM had won altogether five seats, all in Seemanchal region, which has a sizeable Muslim population and is said to have cut into the votes of the mahagathbandhan in several constituencies.

The grand alliance, which is helmed by the RJD, had fallen short of a majority by a dozen seats.

Barring Iman, all the remaining four legislators elected on AIMIM tickets joined the RJD in 2022.

Owaisi has clearly laid a trap for Lalu and it remains to be seen how the RJD chief will tackle such a googly.