Electoral Performance of Rashtriya Janata Dal

In the March 1998 national elections, RJD won 17 Lok Sabha seats from Bihar but failed to make significant headway in any other state. Later that year the party formed an alliance with Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party as an anti-BJP secular coalition but the coalition failed in garnering any widespread support.
In the October 1999 elections, RJD fought the election in alliance with Congress but lost 10 Lok Sabha seats including the seat of Lalu Prasad Yadav. In the 2000 state elections however, it performed unexpectedly well - winning a majority of the seats in the state assembly. Continuing its upswing in electoral fortunes, the party won 21 Lok Sabha seats in the 2004 elections that it fought in alliance with Congress. The pendulum swung back, however, next year and the party had to relinquish power in the 2005 state elections after winning only 75 seats. In the state elections held later that year - as a result of no party being able to form a government - RJD continued its downward slide losing 21 seats.

Rashtriya Janata Dal

The Rashtriya Janata Dal often abbreviated as RJD which literally mean "National People's Party" is a National Political Party in India. The party was founded in 1997 by Laloo Prasad Yadav. The party came about as a result of Lalu Prasad Yadav, ex-president of Janata Dal, being evicted by Sharad Yadav, the then president, on corruption charges ($250 million) over the farm support funds. The mass base of the party has traditionally been Yadavs and Muslims, two large and relatively politically active segments of Bihar's population. In 2008, RJD received the status of recognized national level party following its performance in north-eastern states.

Laloo Prasad Yadav (Current Railway Minister of India) is the leader of the party. Party was founded in year 1997 after Laloo Prasad Yadav split from Janata Dal. Party’s Current Headquarters are located at 13, V P House, Rafi Marg, New Delhi – 110001. Rashtriya Janata Dal is an ally in currently in power United Progressive Alliance. Populism is the main Political ideology of the party.

Party Organization CPI (M)

CPI (M) got 5.66% of votes polled in last parliamentary election (May 2004) and it has 43 MPs. It won 42.31% on an average in the 69 seats it contested. It supported the new Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, but without becoming a part of it. On 9 July 2008 it formally withdrew support from the UPA government explaining this by differences about the Indo-US nuclear deal and the IAEA Safeguards Agreement in particular.

In West Bengal and Tripura it participates in the Left Front. In Kerala the party is part of the Left Democratic Front. In Tamil Nadu it is part of the Progressive Democratic Alliance.
Its members in Great Britain are in the electoral front Unity for Peace and Socialism with the Communist Party of Britain and the British domiciled sections of the Communist Party of Bangladesh and the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). It is standing 13 candidates in the London-wide list section of the Greater London Assembly (GLA) elections in May 2008.