The five rebel ministers, who have lost faith in Babulal Marandi’s leadership, today rejected the Chief Minister’s renewed offer for talks saying the ‘‘expiry date’’ had lapsed on February 20. All the five dissidents — Energy Minister Lalchand Mahato, Revenue Minister Madhu Singh, Urban Development Minister Baccha Singh, PWD Minister Jaleshwar Mahato and Excise Minister Ramesh Singh Munda — stayed away from a Cabinet meeting on Saturday. Today, Lalchand Mahato threatened to topple the government if Marandi was not dismissed by February 27. ‘‘Now, we will not negotiate with any body until a senior BJP leader comes with a letter showing our demand has been met,’’ said Mahato. The rebels’ threat to pull out of the government comes at the eve of the Assembly’s budget session and a day after Poraiyahat goes to polls on February 26. For Marandi, the bypolls will be an acid test in view of the recent Godda victory. Before leaving for Poraiyahat last evening, the CM said: ‘‘I am yet to hear from any one of them (the rebels) as to why they are angry. Pressing for their demand through the media, is not going to help.’’ For Marandi, the rebels’ strength is directly proportional to their number in the 82-member Assembly, as his government survives on support from 45 MLAs. A game of poaching is on and at least six JMM and RJD MLAs have been reportedly approached by some BJP leaders to deal with any eventuality.
