BAKHTIARPUR: The Bihar chief minister, Laloo Prasad Yadav threatened to siege Ayodhya “with crores of Biharis” if the B.J.Pand the VHP went ahead with their project of demolishing religious shrines, He thundered against the Bajrang Dal“ They have begun with demolishing the temple of Bajranbali. Does that promote Hinduism?” he asked.
His rustic audience nodded approvingly at the rhetoric of the “Bihar Ka raja”. A wizened old man said “He is right. See the BJP demolished Si temple and Mahadev got angry in his home in the Himalayas. The newspapers have reported that fireballs came out of the hills and a terrible earthquake took place”.
Laloo Prasad Yadav rolled out an impressive electoral road show in his Sadbhavana Rath“ to once again defeat the Congress” and “to disabuse the BJP and false prophets of any ideas that they might have of having gained support in Bihar”, He was campaigning for Nitish Kumar, former minister in the National Front government at the Center. Polling could not take place in the Barh constituency urging the general elections earlier this year on account of the death of an independent candidate.
If the crowds were any indication, Nitish Kumar, whom Laloo Prasad Yadav repeatedly referred to as “his brother”, should have no difficulty in returning to Delhi. In a Yadav dominated area, the Bihar chief minister proclaimed “A vote for the Janata Dal will be a vote for me”.
The Bihar chief ministers electioneering style is indeed unique. His rhetoric is tempered with humor, at least some of it directed at himself He pointed out that his portrait on the Sadbhavana Rath had been made by the artist Rizwan “to resemble Dilip Kumar. He has also given my haira Sadhana cut”, said the Bihar chief minister with a straight face. Significantly, his portrait on the rath is larger than those of other leaders, among them Gandhi, Ambedkar, Ghaffar Khan Jaya prakash Narain, Karpoori Thakur and Lohia. The only living leader whose image has also been painted on the rath, is V.P Singh.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 1, 1991
