With his ailing father Lalu Prasad Yadav restricting his movements under medical advice, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav has been suffering from low back pain for the last ten days and both the sisters, Misa Bharti and Rohini Acharya are busy campaigning in their constituencies Patliputra and Saran respectively, and the regional party is now facing an acute shortage of star campaigners. In the BJP camp, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with his other star campaigners, has launched a no-holds-barred campaign against RJD in Bihar. On Monday, Modi flew from Patna to address rallies in Saran, Muzaffarpur and Hajipur and landed in Varanasi late in the evening to take out a huge road show.
In Hajipur, which has elected Late Ramvilas Paswan eight times to Lok Sabha, Paswan's son Chirag Paswan is the contestant this time. In his rally, Modi targeted RJD and Congress by alleging that both parties have been trying to "appease" Muslims by promising reservation. In Saran, from where Lalu won four times to Lok Sabha, his daughter Rohini is facing BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Rudy has won this seat four times and in 2014, Rudy defeated Lalu's wife Rabri Devi. In 2019, Rudy defeated Lalu's 'samadhi' (in-law) Chandrika Rai. On Monday, Modi told Saran voters to vote for his government's performance. In Muzaffarpur rally, Modi reminded voters of the dark days of the "jungle raj in Bihar" during the Nineties. On Monday, Lalu's daughter Misa Bharti filed her nomination from the Patliputra constituency. This is her third attempt. She lost LS elections in 2014 and 2019 to BJP's Ram Kripal Yadav, who, during the Nineties, used to be a close confidante of Lalu Prasad and joined BJP in 2014. After filing her nomination, Misa Bharti, along with her father, brothers and other party leaders, went to Srikrishna Sinha Memorial Hall, where Lalu addressed party workers. Lalu Prasad Yadav said both Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar will have to make their exit this time.
"I don't bother what charges Modi levels against me. Narendra Modi is losing this time, 'pucca ja rahe hain'. We have to give him a grand farewell and dispatch him. Nitish Kumar is also going to meet the same fate. He is not going to return to power. This will be a double farewell", the RJD patriarch said. Tejashwi Yadav said, "Modi Ji may call me a shehzada, but Modi himself is a Pirzada (head of the family). Modi will have to tell what he did for Bihar in the last ten years". There was a small fracas during the meeting when Lalu's other son Tej Pratap Yadav pushed a party worker standing behind him, and later complained that he was hurting his bandaged hand. Tej Pratap Yadav has been an embarrassment for the family earlier too. Nobody takes him seriously, but Lalu's family is facing problems this time. Lalu Yadav is the most popular star campaigner of the party, but his poor health does not permit him to move around. He has to avoid too many things too, on medical grounds. Tejashwi Yadav has been campaigning across Bihar forcefully, and huge crowds attended his rallies. But, for the last 10 days, Tejashwi has been suffering from severe low back pain. He is attending rallies by moving around with a waist belt. Tejashwi is unable to move around freely. The party is now short of star campaigners. Lalu's and Tejashwi's absence can cost the party dearly.
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