‘Khamosh’ will be battle code for Shatrughan Sinha, Ravi Shankar Prasad in Patna Sahib clash

Keeping past history and caste arithmetic in mind, Union minister vows to maintain silence against former BJP leader who joined Congress recently.

Shatrughan Sinha and Ravi Shankar Prasad

Patna: ‘Khamosh!’

Shatrughan Sinha’s famous Bollywood shorthand to challenge his opponents will be on full display in the Lok Sabha election campaign in Bihar’s Patna Sahib constituency. ‘Silence’ will be the code between him and his opponent from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, as the two leaders promise a clean electoral battle, deciding not to utter each other’s names during campaigning.

The code of silence between the two leaders has a lot to do with the fact that they know too many inconvenient things about each other and their Kayastha caste.

On Friday, the Bollywood star and former BJP leader who recently joined Congress made his way to Patna to a rousing welcome. Speaking to the media, Sinha said, “Ravi Shankar Prasad is a good man coming from a good family. He has been an old friend. He has my blessing.”

“My fight is against the jumlas unleashed by the two leaders (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah). They make just announcements. Never implement them.”

On his part, the Union minister, too, has vowed to avoid personal attacks on Sinha.

“I will not utter his name during campaign. Personally I respect him,” he told ThePrint.

Bihar deputy CM and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi also told ThePrint, “There is no need for personal attacks. We will fight the polls on the strength of performance of the Union government, our fight against terrorism and the performance of the state government. Shatrughan Sinha can defend the track record of his new party.”

‘Two sides of same coin’

The relationship between Sinha and Prasad goes much beyond the time when the Bollywood star joined the BJP, which had merely two seats in the then Lok Sabha.

Prasad’s late father, Thakur Prasad, was among the tallest leaders of Jan Sangh in the 1970s. He also served as the industries minister in the Karpoori Thakur government in Bihar that decade.

“Prominent citizens of Patna including the family of Shatrughan were regular visitors,” said a senior BJP leader on condition of anonymity.

Later, both Prasad and Sinha became Rajya Sabha members and Union ministers in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

“The two have too many cross connections and both know each other inside out, and know that personal attacks could get ugly,” said another BJP leader who didn’t wish to be named.

A BJP MP called Sinha and Prasad “two sides of the same coin”.

“Both rarely visit Patna. Both do not meet citizens of Patna. Both of them have not given an account of their MP fund. Both are arrogant. Prasad all the more,” said the BJP parliamentarian on condition of anonymity.

He added that a personal attack by both will reveal many unknown facts.

Caste arithmetic

In Bihar’s last assembly elections in 2015, Sinha, who had by then shown himself to be a troublemaker for the party, was kept out of the list of BJP campaigners for his ‘friendly statements’ on Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar. The two leaders were then part of the Grand Alliance against the BJP.

While other state party leaders made statements against the Bollywood star’s propensity, Prasad kept distance from the issue.

This despite the fact that just a year prior to the controversy, Prasad wanted to fight from the Patna Sahib constituency, only to be rebuffed after Sinha put his foot down and refused to contest from anywhere else.

This chosen silence of the two leaders could also be attributed to a political compulsion they face — caste.

The Kayastha population in Patna Sahib is estimated to be over 4 lakh.

While Sinha is the biggest icon in the community, Prasad, who made his name as a leader in the JP movement and has remained a Rajya Sabha MP since 2000, is also an important figure.

“Both of them know that attacking each other can antagonise their own caste,” pointed out the BJP MP, stressing that the outcome of the elections will depend on whom the Kayasthas, traditional BJP voters, poll for.

‘Bihari babu’

The Patna Sahib seat has been a BJP citadel since the 2008 delimitation.

Sinha’s victory margins in both 2009 and 2014 elections — by over 1 lakh votes — have been impressive despite his lack of connect with the local citizens.

The BJP in Patna has a well-knit machinery to bring voters to the polling booths. Unlike the last two elections, they will have to work against the Bollywood star this time.

Incidentally, there were speculations that his actress daughter Sonakshi Sinha would come to campaign for him. However, the ‘Bihari Babu’, as the veteran actor is known, denied it.

“I did not call Sonakshi last time. This time also she will not come. She is apolitical. Patna Sahib is known because ‘Bihari Babu’ represents it.”