Vibha sharma
Tribune news service
New Delhi, October 26
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Patna on Wednesday, three-time Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appears to have disappeared from the BJP posters there.
Sources say the Chief Minister, who was recently seen losing his cool at rallies, appears to be on slippery ground in the state. Besides Patna, the prime minister will also cover Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur. Today in Sakra, in the Muzaffarpur district, some protesters threw a shoe at Nitish as he made his way to his helicopter after completing his speech at an election meeting.
Police arrested four people on charge of causing disturbances at the rally, police sources said.
The Sakra incident is one of many protests Nitish has faced during his rallies in different parts of the state. In many places, Nitish lost his cool and chided protesters for “acting on behalf of political rivals” and telling them that no one would bother even if they didn’t vote for him.
For Nitish, the anti-concern factor is too obvious. The BJP-JD (U) -Hindustani Awami Morcha (S) – Vikassheel Insaan Party alliance relied heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said.
To deflect attention from the anti-incumbency facing Nitish, the BJP is trying to turn this election into a ‘Modi versus the rest’ with a liberal dash of the BJP electoralist style that revolves around ‘nationalism’, ‘development’ and the “double”. growth engine under the NDA ”versus the“ Anti-National Opposition ”.
“The fact that people are as angry at the Opposition as they are at the ruling coalition, Modi’s popularity could save the day for Nitish on November 10 (count day),” say observers. (PTI inputs)
