Subdued Nitish, sprightly Lalu a study in contrasts

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad presented a picture of contrast on Saturday, a day before the results of the high-voltage assembly elections were to be out.
While Nitish was subdued and met only a handful of visitors, remaining off Twitter for the second consecutive day, Lalu reiterated that Maha Gathbandhan will win 190 seats and talked of launching a “revolution” against the NDA regime at the Centre.
Unlike other days, there were fewer cars parked outside the CM’s residence at 7 Circular Road. Officials said Nitish met a few selected people on Friday and Saturday. “There was no schedule for two days, and he remained inside,” said an officer.
“Probably visitors, most of whom are senior politicians, including MLAs and MLCs, also stayed away from the place as they knew Nitish was not much interested in meeting people,” the officer added.
The CM remained away from social media as well. His last tweet was just after the end of polling for the fifth and final phase on Thursday, when he thanked people of Bihar for their “overwhelming support to Maha Gathbandhan”.
On the other hand, Lalu called a presser at the RJD headquarters where he repeated much of what he had said on Friday. “There is desperation in the BJP camp because Maha Gathbandhan is winning not less than 190 seats. Some exit polls are not giving a clear picture. News channels are confused, but I am not,” Lalu told reporters.
When asked about how he had arrived at the figure of 190, the RJD chief said, “We work on the ground and are deeply connected with poor families. Most of the people hailing from EBCs, backward, Dalit and Mahadalit categories and minorities have voted for us.”
He said after installing Nitish in Patna, he would launch a movement against Narendra Modi from Varanasi, the PM’s parliamentary constituency. “I will move across Varanasi and remind people of the promises Modi made during the 2014 LS polls. After Varanasi, I will go to Kolkata and hold a rally at Brigade Maidan,” he added.
“The BJP leaders have now started saying that Bihar results would not be a referendum on the Modi government. But then why were the PM and so many ministers from his Cabinet campaigning in Bihar? They tried everything, but have failed,” Lalu said.
The RJD chief claimed that Modi and BJP president Amit Shah would be “wiped out” after the Bihar results. “Narendra Modi ka supda saaf ho gaya hai (Modi has been wiped out in Bihar). After getting the feedback of voting pattern, BJP has gone into coma and its leaders are in ICU (intensive care unit) whereas I am totally relaxed,” Prasad said.