In the previous polls, Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav were on the same side.
Patna:
Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav has been addressing a blitz of rallies as he campaigns for next week’s election in Bihar. If that has given him a sore throat, the remedy was suggested to him by the very man he has been targeting – Nitish Kumar.
On Tuesday, when the Chief Minister ran into Tejashwi Yadav at Ram Vilas Paswan’s “Shraadh” ceremony in Patna, they were seen exchanging a few words.
It so happened that the 31-year-old Rashtriya Janata Dal leader told Nitish Kumar that his throat was packed up because of the constant electioneering.
“Please drink warm water,” Nitish Kumar advised. The 69-year-old veteran went on to share that he used to drink chilled water until former union minister George Fernandes, an old political associate, urged him to sip warm water.
In the previous election in 2015, Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav were on the same side. After the Mahagatbandhan’s victory, Nitish Kumar conceded Lalu Yadav’s request and named his debutant son Tejashwi Yadav Deputy Chief Minister.
The arrangement and the coalition was shortlived; in 2017, as the Yadavs, mainly Tejashwi, faced corruption allegations linked to a land deal, Nitish Kumar dumped the RJD and Congress and revived his alliance with the BJP.
Since then, Tejashwi Yadav has attacked Nitish Kumar – whom he often refers to as “chacha (uncle)” – without a break and the animosity has been reciprocated.
Yesterday, their meeting had the cameras on overdrive. So did Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan’s gesture of touching the feet of Nitish Kumar, his chief target ahead of the polls.
All three sat together before the cameras, a first in this poll season.
Nitish Kumar is aiming for a fourth straight term as Bihar votes in three rounds for a new 243-member assembly from October 28. The results will be declared on November 10.
