Patna, Oct. 31: Laloo Prasad Yadav may be trying to polarise Muslim votes by pointing fingers at the Election Commission’s alleged bias against the community, but the NDA is robbing him of what he really wants.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal chief’s hopes rest on the alliance’s “unsecular” reputation, but the BJP is avoiding any mention of Hindutva or Ram temple. To make matters worse, Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar, the NDA’s candidate for chief minister, is steering clear of the BJP.

The strategy is clearly aimed at taking the wind out of Laloo Prasad’s campaign that focuses almost entirely on the NDA’s “communal” agenda.

Nitish has deliberately campaigned on his own, barring a few meetings with Hussain, the lone Muslim in the BJP camp. The idea, say insiders, is to present a profile that is not tinged with communal colour, though the BJP is the Dal (U)’s alliance partner.

Nitish is at pains to deny this is deliberate. “It is not by design that I am not campaigning with the BJP leaders. It just so happened that I started my solo campaign with the Nyay Yatra earlier. Actually, I want to cover all districts, each and every constituency. That involves a very hectic schedule. If I keep two other speakers with me, I will not be able to stick to my schedule,” Nitish told The Telegraph.

So, Sushma Swaraj campaigns without any prominent Dal (U) leader by her side as do Pramod Mahajan, Uma Bharti, Murli Manohar Joshi and even L.K. Advani.

Advani has addressed several meetings in Bihar and his sole companion has been George Fernandes, not a Nitish favourite. “Advaniji campaigned with George. There is no problem between us. It just so happens that I campaign on my own,” the Dal (U) leader said.

But if word goes around in Bihar that Nitish is keen on keeping the BJP at arm’s length, the NDA’s chief ministerial candidate won’t mind. Both Nitish and the BJP’s master strategist Arun Jaitley know that presenting a combined face may not be the best strategy in the state, where Muslims along with Yadavs have given Laloo Prasad a headstart above all caste combinations.

Even before the polls were announced, a game of ideological shadow-boxing was being staged. Nitish advocated reservation for Dalit Muslims in the monsoon session of Parliament and the RSS, predictably, attacked him. The Dal (U) promptly held a news conference to retaliate, both against the RSS and the BJP.

“If it helps him to get some Muslim votes, why should we not work on a script? It makes political sense,” a senior BJP leader said.

Much to Laloo Prasad’s dismay, Nitish is bent on flaunting his “secular” credentials. He visits mosques, pays homage to sufi shrines and maintains a distance from the BJP.

“What Laloo would ideally like is for Narendra Modi to campaign here. In fact, he had said as much to some of our colleagues. But we know what that means. That is why we have kept this campaign as neutral as possible,” said a BJP leader.

The strategy may not ultimately fool the Muslim voters but it is certainly helping in robbing Laloo Prasad of his main poll plank.