Muslim bodies in Bihar have expressed their prefererence for Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav over the Lok Janshakti Party led by Ram Vilas Paswan in the forthcoming assembly elections.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hindi along with several other Muslim organisations have called on Muslims in Bihar not to blindly support Paswan.
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"We would like to give it (RJD government) one more chance with the hope that it will work for overall development," said Jamaat-e-Islami Hindi leaders in a special meet in Patna to discuss the organisation's strategy for the assembly elections.
The line adopted by Paswan will prove costly for the state's secular government, Jamaat president Abdul Haque Ansari told rediff.com.
He said that the LJP could prove fatal for secularism as Paswan preferred personal gain over social causes.
By deciding to fight the polls on its own LJP has virtually sided with the communal forces," he said.
Abdul Haque Ansari said he was worried about the differences among the United Progressive Alliance partners Congress and the RJD, however was more concerned about LJP's decision to contest on its own.
"It would have been better if Paswan had stayed in the UPA," he said.
The Jamaat appealed to the people, particularly Muslims and Dalits, to unite and reject the communal forces.
The Jamaat meeting was attended by several Muslim organisations including Emarate Sharia, Jamiat Ahle Hadith and some members of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
The Muslim leaders expressed satisfaction over the 15-year-old Lalu rule, patting it for largely maintaining the secular fabric of the state.
The underprivileged Yadav community and Muslims constitute over 30 per cent of Bihar's 80.3 million people and form the backbone of RJD's support base.
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