When Nitish Kumar and lalu Prasad hugged each other at the insistence of the lensmen at the Iftar party hosted by the RJD supremo on Friday, the two looked uncomfortable. It was the first meeting between the two after the Chief Minister took a decision to back Ram Nath Kovind, the NDA pick for presidential election and the body language of the two allies revealed many things not uttered by them. Nitish though clarified his stand maintaining a distance from UPA’s decision which selected Meira Kumar.
The parties linked to the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar have lined up with Congress and RJD on one side and JD(U) taking a different stand. But leaders of these parties are unanimous in asserting that their differences would have no adverse impact on their alliance and coalition Government.
Political observers say that continuation of the alliance was in the interest of all the parties involved in it because of the political situation not only in Bihar but also across the country. Both RJD and JD(U) needed each other to maintain their electoral dominance and the Congress has no other option but to stick to this alliance, they said.
The Bihar watchers opined that lalu might be feeling hurt at the attitude of Nitish but he would afford to walkout of the alliance in view of the surging problems his family is facing due to benami land or money laundering as alleged by the Opposition and the actions of Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate apart from reopening of some fodder scam cases in which RJD chief is involved. With his two sons enjoying number two and number three rank in the Nitish Cabinet, lalu is enjoying power and would not afford to quit it and come on the road, the observers feel.
lalu looked very grim at the Iftar party, something unusual as he used to crack jokes and laugh heartily at such occasions earlier, but said nothing. Earlier when he returned from Delhi on Friday he recalled that Nitish had spoken about ‘Sangh-mukt Bharat’ and was active in uniting opposition but “don’t know what is cooking up in his mind.”
He said he would try to influence Nitish by advising him to reconsider his decision but the statement of the CM he made when he stepped out of lalu’s residence has left no room for any rethinking.
“One should understand that this is not the fight between the two individuals but between two ideologies and my party will never compromise on ideologies,” said lalu and in an indirect attack on Nitish said that whosoever did not bow before Narendra Modi is being harassed and tortured be it Arvind Kejriwal or Mamata Banerjee. But I will never bow down, face all consequences, fight and win.
lalu’s son and Deputy CM Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said his party will never vote in favour of BJP and RSS whether it is Presidential election or general election.
“It is not the issue of winning or losing but a fight between two ideologies,” he swiped at Nitish who had said that Meira Kumar has been fielded only to be defeated. Senior Congress leader Sadanand Singh said it was expected from Nitish that he would support Meira Kumar who is a woman, Dalit and Bihari and more experienced than anybody else.