Ravi Shankar Prasad has shunned the chopper and opted for the state's "back-breaking" roads to "micro-manage" the elections in the final leg.
On Thursday, The Telegraph caught up with the Union information technology minister in-charge of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's much hyped "Digital India" campaign at a hotel room in Madhubani for an informal chat.
Ravi Shankar is among the 20 Union ministers, almost a third of the Union ministry, who have been pressed into the Bihar campaign. However, what sets him apart is that he hails from Bihar and claims to be well-versed with the state's political terrain.
He seemed certain of the NDA's victory. "We are absolutely sure of winning Bihar. The enthusiasm for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rallies shows people have made up their mind on change," he says as he waits for a late launch.
The Union minister is currently handling two jobs - micro-managing the elections on the ground and laying the groundwork for Modi's rallies. The Prime Minister is scheduled to address an election meeting in Madhubani town on Sunday and Darbhanga on Monday. "During Jayaprakash Narayan's student movement days, I was in charge of the Kosi belt, so I know the region well," he said, to justify why the party has given him responsibility of the Mithila region.
Despite being a senior Union minister, Ravi Shankar's priority seems to be party work. He had shifted to an ordinary room while vacating the only suite at Madhubani's DG hotel for party president Amit Shah. "Our party president is putting in unparalleled hard work," he says, choosing to call himself an "ordinary party worker". In fact, Shah is addressing more rallies in Bihar than the Prime Minister.
Asked what makes him so sure of the NDA's victory, Ravi Shankar goes after RJD chief Lalu Prasad. He agrees Lalu has a vote base but points out that his politics has outlived its utility. "Lalu is talking about buffaloes, black magic, backward-forward etc. All these things have expired. Young Yadavs want to talk about computers and information technology. Lalu is going back in time," he says.
Ravi Shankar cites an example to buttress his argument. He says that during a recent trip to Raghopur, the constituency in Vaishali from where Lalu's younger son Tejaswi is contesting, he had asked a small crowd, mostly Yadav youths, how many of them used Facebook. "You know, 50 hands went up. Many even said they follow me on Twitter," he said. "Do you believe they will vote for Lalu?" he said.
He then indicated how Lalu had badly treated his former aide Ram Kripal Yadav and how the BJP had given him respect and made him a Union Minister.
On chief minister Nitish Kumar, he said the JDU boss doesn't have any vote base and is banking on Lalu. "The day Nitish joined hands with Lalu we were sure of our victory," he said.
As he prepared for lunch and asked his men to provide him with clean bed-sheets and pillow covers, local BJP leaders and a Congress MLC came to meet him. The BJP's Madhubani district president said Ravi Shankar had made him whatever he was now, giving the Union minister a reason to smile.
Finally, lunch arrived. It was around 4pm. The waiter who served the food, said proudly: "Mera ye saubhagya hai ki mai would-be chief minister ko khana paros raha hoon (It is my good luck that I am serving food to the would-be chief minister of Bihar)."
That seemed to irk Ravi Shankar. "Kaun bola ye tumko? (Who told you this?)," Ravi Shankar asks. The waiter changed tack to say he feels Ravi Shankar should be chief minister if the BJP wins. "Ye sab bakwas hai. Bahar ye sab mat bolna (This is all bunkum. Please don't utter such things outside), Ravi Shankar says with a broad smile on his face as the waiter serves him.
It's a late lunch Ravi Shankar is having. He has just two parathas with low-fried vegetables. But he looks satisfied and orders sweets.
