From the forefront of Lohiaite Socialism to the waiting room of a saffron platform is not exactly a glorious walk. But political glory must be irrelevant for politicians like Sharad Yadav. At a time when Indian politics seems to have split into a bi-polar mould, survival requires aligning with one of them. Ideology can wait. And the wily Yadav has realised this quick enough.

In the heat that precedes elections to the 13th Lok Sabha what makes Yadav a particularly bright object of public attention, is his being symbolic of the demise of a movement originally started by Jaiprakash Narayan to build an alternative Centrist force. Never in the thick of any popular political movement, Sharad Yadav found his first gainful messiah in the form of VP Singh at the height of the Bofors crisis. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 largely owing to the `Raja Saheb wave' that swept northern India and became a minister in the experimental anti-Congress government that followed.

Months later in 1990, when Janata Dal showed first signs of its by-now-infamous brittle make, Yadav began to look away forn a fresh pair of shoulders to lean on. As time warranted, he shifted to Bihar and rode on an unwilling Laloo Prasad Yadav to secure his survival in New Delhi.

Yadav's latest shift, colluding with the chief minister of the only JD-ruled state to split the party and seek the security of an alliance that appears most likely to win should surprise none. But why not side with the Congress? That's because Congress has better Yadavs to court.

For NDA, Yadav's utility lies in his being a floater - a quality typical of a ward of the Left-to-the-Centre school. The minds in the saffron camp may have their fears, but they know that a `re-invented' Sharad Yadav means another mortal hole in the so-called Secularist armour.

Bhawesh K Mishra