Lalu Yadav Arrives in Patna After Seven Months, Nitish Meets with RJD Chief

GG News Bureau

Patna, 29th April. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar called on RJD supremo Lalu Prasad after he returned to his hometown after a seven-month absence, amid speculation that the two leaders may work together to form a country-wide opposition unity to take on the BJP in next year’s Lok Sabha elections.

Late Friday evening, hours after the RJD supremo arrived, Kumar drove to Rabri Devi’s residence, the former chief minister and Prasad’s wife. Prasad had been abroad for about seven months, during which he got a kidney transplant in Singapore and recuperated at the house of his eldest daughter Misa Bharti in Delhi.

What happened during the meeting between the two veteran leaders, which lasted less than half an hour, was unclear.

In Bihar political jargon, the RJD head and the JD(U) supreme leader are known as ‘bada bhai-chhota bhai’ (big brother-little brother). They have been close companions since the ‘JP Movement’ in the 1970s, when both were student leaders.

The two OBC leaders’ political worth increased in the post-Mandal era, which also saw them separate ways and feud viciously for decades.

The two came together in August last year, when Kumar rejected the BJP, a dominant ally, but held power thanks to Prasad’s swift offer of support, whose party has the most MLAs in Bihar.