Rashtriya Janata Dal patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav spoke in public on Thursday after a long time, but his comments were loaded with political meanings, confusing all in Bihar.
Lalu Yadav said, “our doors are open for Nitish Kumar...I have forgiven all his past sins and have left old issues behind. If Nitish comes forward, we have no problem in working with him”.
Lalu’s offer was carefully planned. He said this in an interview and spoke inside a car with ease. His words were clear. The confusion was created because his son Tejashwi Yadav had been consistently saying there was no chance of any alliance with Nitish anymore.
Three days ago, Tejashwi Yadav had said in Sitamarhi that running a government with Nitish Kumar would be like striking one’s own foot with an axe. Tejashwi said, “the doors of RJD are closed for Nitish, and there is no question of his party’s entry” into RJD-led Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. On Wednesday, Tejashwi said, “Nitish’s exit from power is final…He has ruled Bihar for 20 years and Bihar requires new seeds..If you sow the same old seeds continuously, the soil will get ruined.”
But Lalu Yadav spoke differently and his remarks created ripples in Bihar politics. Nitish’s Janata Dal(U) leaders described Lalu’s remarks as useless and speculative, while Nitish Kumar laughed off Lalu’s suggestions.
At Patna Raj Bhavan, after the new Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s swearing-in ceremony, Nitish put his hand on Tejashwi’s shoulder, patted his back and spoke to him for a minute. When reporters asked Nitish about Lalu’s remarks, the Chief Minister laughed and walked away with a quip, “What are you saying?”.
Bihar JD(U) minister Vijay Chaudhary said, “there is no confusion in our party over this, and the confusion is in RJD. This is why Lalu and his son are speaking in two different tones. It is clear Lalu Yadav is going to lose again in Bihar and he is worried. That’s why he is inviting Nitish Kumar, but his remark means nothing.” BJP leader and Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary said, “Lalu Yadav seems to be worried because his Mahagathbandhan got a severe beating in Lok Sabha polls…Nitish Kumar knows Lalu well and he is not going to react to his offer.”
Congress leaders appeared to be enthusiastic. Congress legislative party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan praised Nitish Kumar as a “Gandhian who is working with Godse supporters… If Lalu has offered something to Nitish Kumar then there must be some meaning behind it.” In the evening, Tejashwi Yadav again appeared before reporters to say that “no inference should be drawn from Lalu Ji’s remarks.”
The fact is, whatever Lalu Yadav said was perfectly planned. It was a trial balloon sent to test the direction of the wind. Lalu’s dream is to see his son Tejashwi as CM during his lifetime. But a master strategist like Lalu knows, caste votes are now fully divided in Bihar. Lalu knows Tejashwi cannot get a majority in this year’s assembly elections by relying on Congress and other smaller parties.
On the other hand, Nitish Kumar is leading a big alliance with BJP and he can win the assembly elections hands down to become the CM again. But Tejashwi feels, Nitish Kumar, because of old age, is now tired and this is a golden opportunity for him to come to power. Tejashwi is quite clear in his mind that he would not be joining hands with “Nitish Chacha”.
On his part, Nitish Kumar has also said that he had committed mistakes twice in the past (in joining hands with RJD), and he would not do so for the third time. BJP has already announced that it has no problem with accepting Nitish as chief minister again.
Then why this politically mischievous statement from Lalu? The old warhorse is a clever player in politics. He is a master in creating confusions. Nitish’s record of crossing over to the other camp is already bad. That’s why Lalu made this remark with a view to get some political gain. But the fallout took place in his own party, RJD, this time. For the first time, both father and son appeared to be towing two different lines. Both appear to disagree on the issue of joining hands with Nitish. The confusion is clearly in the RJD.
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