Patna ,March 20:TRUST Lalu Prasad to turn any situation to his advantage. The Rashtriya Janata Dal president had no qualms in making the most of a dais meant for his political rival, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, on Thursday.
Lalu grabbed the stage — and attention — that had actually been set for Nitish to address a congregation of Muslims in Muzaffarpur district.
Accompanied by his trusted lieutenants, Lalu arrived unannounced at the dargah of the famous Sufi saint Hazrat Teg Ali Quadari. The occasion was the annual urs in the sleepy hamlet of Sherkahisharief.
Lalu came out of the shrine after offering prayers and was about to leave when he noticed a well- prepared dais and a huge gathering of devotees. Not someone to miss any opportunity to woo voters, Lalu climbed up the dais, leaving the district administration officials as well as the Janata Dal- United leaders flummoxed.
The local officials repeatedly told Lalu that the stage was meant for Nitish, who was scheduled to visit the shrine later in the evening. But witnesses said he turned a deaf ear to them.
He grabbed the microphone and addressed the gathering. “ I have come here on my own and not at anyone’s invitation,” Lalu told the audience. “ Unka bulawa aaya toh chala aaya ( the Sufi saint called me, so I came).” He said he had come to pray for Hindu- Muslim unity. “ Everybody gets a message of peace and harmony here,” he stated.
Much to the relief of the organisers, Lalu only made a brief speech.
A few hours after Lalu’s exit, Nitish arrived with his entourage. Accompanied by a few ministers and legislators, Nitish also offered floral tributes at the tomb of the Sufi saint. He then addressed the gathering from the same dais.
Nitish said he wanted to eradicate illiteracy and take Bihar forward on the road to prosperity.
Nitish and Lalu have been visiting all the famous Muslim shrines in Bihar over the past month, apparently with an eye on the vote bank. Muslims constitute the 16.4 per cent of the state’s population.