Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday did not turn up at a rally in which he was to share dais with Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, triggering speculation of a logjam in the coming together of Janata Dal-United and RJD ahead of the crucial state election.
But, Lalu Prasad and JD-U president Sharad Yadav shared the dais at the rally of Nishad (fishermen) to show a picture of unity between the two parties.
Nitish Kumar, who was scheduled to inaugurate the maharally, on Saturday announced cancellation of his programme.
When reporters asked him about skipping the rally in which he was to share dais with Lalu Prasad, Kumar said it was because of his recent eye operation.
“I will not be able to make it to the programme due to laser surgery of my eye. I had informed organisers about it beforehand,” Kumar told reporters.
The development has triggered speculation if everything was fine between the two amid suspense prevailing over the fate of merger or alliance between JD-U and RJD ahead of crucial Bihar poll.
This was the second occasion when the two popularly known as “Bade bhai (Lalu) aur Chote bhai (Nitish)” were supposed to come together at a public platform.
Nitish was absent from a rally of Prajapatis (potters caste) at the same Gandhi maidan on April 19 last in which he had to share dais with Lalu Prasad after nearly two decades.
When media-persons asked Lalu Prasad about the absence of Nitish at the rally venue, he tried to play it down and said it was because of his eye operation.
Both RJD chief and Sharad Yadav asserted unity between them would be there in the Bihar election and they would together defeat Bharatiya Janata Party.
Lalu Prasad tried to play the “mandal card” and appealed to backward castes to come together again as they had done in early 90s to defeat BJP.
“Mandal forces shall come together to defeat Kamandal (BJP) who took advantage of division among us and came to power on false promises,” the RJD chief said at the rally at Gandhi maidan.
Prasad reminded the gathering of fishermen caste that it was he who gave them a and other backward and extremely backward castes through slogan of social justice in early 90s.
The RJD president launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that he came to power by making false promises to people. "He (Modi) had promised to pay Rs 15.5 lakh to every poor by bringing black money into the country, creating 5 crore jobs for youths, but what happened to these promises,” Prasad asked.
Prasad accused Modi of “marketing” himself as a tea seller in trains to win election. “I also had sold tea and pulled rickshaw during college days due to poverty but never used these for political gains,” he said.
Asserting that the BJP government has failed on all fronts, the RJD chief said “in order to divert attention of people from the failure, now they have started talking about Ram Mandir once again”.
Sharad Yadav in his brief speech said unity among them has already been reached and it would be announced soon. “We have successfully forged alliance in the past and would do so this time also to start a new chapter against BJP in the country,” the JD-U chief said.
Bihar Animal Husbandry minister Baidyanath Sahni, who played an important role in organisation of the Nishad rally, a caste to which he belongs, appealed to his castemen to provide strength to Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad to defeat BJP.
Image: JD-president Sharad Yadav and RJD chief Lalu Prasad being garlanded by supporters during Nishad Sankalp Maha rally in Patna. Photograph: PTI
