With Bihar’s caste cauldron already getting politically spiced up ahead of the Assembly polls, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav is busy appeasing his core caste constituency of Yadavs, who had largely shifted allegiance to the ruling JD(U)-BJP in recent years to deliver successive electoral jolts to the RJD.
Virtually beginning a campaign to boost the morale of the Yadav community alongside mounting attacks on Mr Nitish Kumar’s JD(U)-BJP government, Mr Yadav is now reminding the Yadavs how they used to be fearless and got the fruits of government (contracts, preferences, etc.) during the 15-year RJD regime.
“How many of you are contractors in NREGS? Raise your hands,” said Mr Yadav to a large audience gathered for a convention of the Yadav Jagran Manch in Patna on Friday. Seeing not even a single hand raised, he said: “Some special people have been awarded these contracts. But you (the Yadavs) are at the forefront of society and you must work to achieve social unity by taking all castes together. During our rule, you were not afraid of fighting even with SPs, but now even the sight of a police inspector fills many with fear.”
The populist speechmaker in Mr Yadav came alive by the power cut during the convention and the defunct AC in the hall. Accusing the Nitish Kumar government for the trouble, he said: “They did this to discourage people from coming here. But they do not know the Yadavs do not depend on the ACs and take cold air by swinging their gamchha (thin cotton towels). Even the mosquitoes fear us.”