Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was running for a fourth term, appeared to have been goaded by Lalu Zindabad’s slogans at his election rally on Wednesday. A video of the scene showed a visibly furious CM stopping his speech midway to take stock of the tagline he was yelling at the people in the crowd.
“Kya bol rahe ho, kya bol rahe ho, kya bol rahe ho (what are you saying, what are you saying, what are you saying),” Nitish Kumar thundered, stopping his speech midway. The CM was petitioning for Chandrika Rai, a longtime RJD leader and assistant to Lalu Yadav who recently changed to ruler JD (U).
“Jara hathwa uthao, kahe ko anaap shanaap bol rahe ho (Raise your hand, why are you talking nonsense?)”, The CM demanded. At this point the catchphrase died down and someone in the crowd yelled “chara chor hain sab, chara chor (forage thief), a reference to Lalu Prasad Yadav, who has been convicted in four cases of forage scam and is serving time jail time from different periods The head of the RJD is currently in treatment at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.
Emboldened, the CM warned them not to cause “finds (chaos)” at the electoral rally.
“Yahan pe hall mat karo, vote nahi dena hai toh mat do (Don’t make chaos here. If you don’t want to vote for me, don’t)”, said the CM. Then he surrounded the crowd, asking if that slogan shout was allowed at the JD (U) rally, the crowd roared in favor of CM.
Nitish Kumar then conveyed the sentiment of the crowd to those who opposed him and advised them not to do things as they would only “destroy the votes of the man they are here for.”
Still unfinished, the CM then instructed the opposing crowd not to know about Chandrika Rai, the candidate he was campaigning for.
Exactly one week before voting day, the stakes are clearly high, and the parties are doing everything they can to attract voters.
Earlier today, RJD leader and Mahagathbandan chief ministerial candidate, Tejashwi Yadav, in a quick assessment said “Nitish Kumar ji mentally and physically exhausted.”
Also on Tuesday, the two leaders engaged in a war of words with the prime minister attacking Yadav over his alliance’s electoral promise of 10 lakh jobs.
“When you make a high claim, you must also explain the mobilization of resources to deal with the financial burden. Will it be obtained and kept with the ill-gotten money that the family has accumulated and is currently serving a prison sentence for the irregularities? Kumar had said during an election rally in Gaya.
Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party, who decided to go alone in the polls, has already made it clear that he will support a BJP-led government in the state and has been taking shots at Nitish Kumar.
The results of the Bihar elections will be published on 10 November.
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