The BJP leaders have been claiming that the Congress(I) has committed "suicide" in Bihar by seeming to side with the RJD. But what they forget is that the Congress(I) does not have much to lose in Bihar and, if in the bargain it manages to get more than its fair share in any seat-sharing arrangement with the RJD, it could prove the BJP calculations wrong.

Whether the Congress (I) has gained or lost is open to debate, but the BJP, by its misadventure, has given a new lease of life to the RJD and has itself lost some political ground in Bihar. The perception is that despite having the muscle of a government at the Centre, the BJP has been unable to fight Laloo Yadav in his fiefdom. And that message could cost both the BJP and the Samata Party dear. (Source: The Hindu, 14 March, 1999)