The gossip in political circles is that former chief minister Nitish Kumar, while talking to RJD chief Lalu Prasad, was cribbing over chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s flip-flops. e was telling Lalu how frequently Manjhi left the party red-faced. “Laluji fully sympathised with Nitish but told him he was facing the same problem in party MP Pappu Yadav, who too often left the party red-faced,” recalled an RJD leader. The Madhepura MP has emerged as a thorn in the flesh for Lalu ever since he remarked, soon after the Lok Sabha polls, that Lalu was to blame for the party’s performance. “Pappu has never issued a single statement in the RJD’s favour and thinks he is above the party. When RJD leaders have been asked not to make statements on Manjhi, Pappu publicly praises him,” said a RJD leader. The Lalu-Pappu love-hate relationship goes back to the 1990s. Pappu had once proclaimed himself as Lalu’s Hanuman. “But he soon became a bitter critic, switching sides and joining RJD rivals and them again becoming a supporting him. Laluji keeps on giving him tickets,” said a senior RJD leader.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Union home minister Rajnath Singh reportedly crossed paths in Ranchi where both had gone to campaign for their respective parties for the ensuing Assembly elections. They had put up at the same hotel. Rajnath found Lalu sitting in the lobby and the two exchanged pleasantries. The home minister was in a hurry and said he would talk to him (Lalu) at the airport, as both were to take the same flight back to New Delhi. To this Lalu remarked: “Do not talk to me in public. You might lose your ministry,” triggering peels of laughter across the lobby. The home minister, too, smiled. “Its not known if the two spoke on the plane,” an RJD supporter said.
Nitish Kumar remains always tense about what Jitan Ram Manjhi would say that day. But Manjhi’s latest statement should please him. Manjhi has declared he did not keep photographs of any gods or goddesses at his home. But he keeps Nitish’s photo. “That is more like it. Manjhi should learn from the Tamil Nadu chief minister on how to be grateful to his predecessor. But Manjhi is prone to flip-flop and could make one soon,” remarked a JDU leader.
Disqualified JDU MLA from Barh, Gyanendra Kumar Gyanu, raised many an eyebrow with his presence at the inauguration of the Barh super thermal plant by Union minister Piyush Goyal. JDU leaders were more agitated over his presence than the fact that Nitish Kumar had not been invited. A JDU minister had told NTPC officials that chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi would skip the function if Gyanu were invited. But he was not only invited, he even got to propose the vote of thanks. A BJP leader recalled: “Sushil Kumar Modi insisted that Gyanu be present as he is likely to be the party’s next candidate in the Assembly elections. But what was most surprising was the fact that Manjhi and Gyanu were seen chatting at the function.”
