Patna: His voice slurred, the trademark pithy one-liners were gone and his memory of certain incidents appeared hazy, but in his first election meeting in six years, Rashtriya Janata Dal national president Lalu Prasad still did what he does best — strike a chord with the massive crowd.
The last time Lalu took part in an election campaign was in 2015, ahead of the assembly polls in Bihar, and at the time he was in alliance with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United).
On Wednesday, the veteran Bihar politician addressed a huge crowd at Tarapur in Munger district, and another at Kusheshwar Asthan in Darbhanga. Bypolls for the Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan seats are scheduled for 30 October. The results will be announced on 2 November.
At Tarapur, he responded to Nitish’s remarks that Lalu would have had him shot dead. “Why should I shoot you? I used to put a tilak on your forehead,” he said.
But there was no mistake that Nitish was the main target. “I have come from Delhi to submerge Nitish into history. Nitish kisi ka nahi hai (Nitish Kumar is not loyal to anyone). He is a Paltu Ram,” Lalu said to an approving crowd.
After his son Tejashwi Yadav whispered something in his ear, Lalu added, “Yes, that is what he said. Mitti mein mil jayenge BJP se haath nahi milayenge (I will bite the dust, but I will not rejoin BJP).”
But the major part of his 20-minute speech focused on issues that affected the common man.
“Shrabandi ka majak bana diya hai. Ab ghar ghar pahuchaya jata hai (Nitish has made a joke out of Prohibition. Now, liquor is supplied at home),” Lalu said.
Incidentally, when Nitish Kumar declared Bihar a dry state in 2016, he had the backing of Lalu.
The RJD chief dwelt at length on price rise and inflation. “At what cost do you bring edible oil home?” he asked. “Do you not feel the pinch in your pockets when you buy petrol? Even the price of the railway platform ticket has been hiked to Rs 50.”
While addressing the meeting, Lalu was reminded by the former union minister and close associate, Jaiprakash Yadav, that as CM of Bihar, the former had created a new block in Munger district. Tarapur, where the bypolls are scheduled on 30 October, is located in Munger district.
Lalu then reminded the crowd of this and declared that he will fight a long battle for the caste census to happen.
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One-liners gone but mass appeal intact
For old-timers, Lalu’s Tarapur address was a trifle disappointing. For one, there was none of the pithy one-liners nor the wit that he would belt out to adoring crowds.
In 2015, for instance, he mimicked Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an address at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, leaving the crowd in splits.
He would often refer to his political adversary and senior BJP leader, Sushil Kumar Modi, as his secretary. This is because Sushil Modi had been the secretary of Patna University Students Union when Lalu was the president.
On Wednesday, however, Lalu was far more circumspect, choosing to focus on real-life issues. But the crowd, the largest in these bypolls, showed he still hadn’t lost his mass appeal.
“His speech may have slurred and he may be forgetting a few things, but in the past four years, he has undergone a lot,” a senior RJD leader said.
“There has been judicial custody; failing health, due to which he is being monitored by doctors, and a family feud. But despite all of this, he went to the masses. The people will appreciate that he is a fighter.”
The only dampener came from his rebellious older son Tej Pratap Yadav, who Wednesday intensified his feud with RJD state president Jagdanand Singh. Tej Pratap alleged that Singh was behind him not being a part of the RJD election campaign.
Convicted in a fodder scam-related case in 2017, Lalu was released on bail in April, but had been undergoing medical treatment in Delhi since, while staying at his Rajya Sabha MP daughter Misa Bharti’s residence. He returned to Patna Sunday evening, having last been in Bihar in April 2018, on parole from his jail term in Ranchi back then, to attend son Tej Pratap’s wedding.
‘Got a call from Sonia’
Lalu who took a chopper to both the public meetings told the media that he had received a call from Sonia Gandhi.
“She enquired about my health and talked about the future of the alliance between my party and the Congress,” Lalu said.
The relationship between the two parties has been strained and both are contesting the bypolls separately. Lalu had Tuesday even used a derogatory term to describe the Bihar Congress incharge Bhakta Charan Das.
But Sonia Gandhi reaching out to Lalu is being seen in political circles as the realisation that the Congress could not do without RJD support in Bihar.
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
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