RJD supporters on their way to Gandhi Maidan. Picture by Sachin

Patna, May 15: It’s still not a roar, but murmurs of discontent against Nitish Kumar among women — who formed part of the bedrock of support for the JD(U) — are growing.

As RJD chief Lalu Prasad brought his fight against Nitish Kumar’s susashan to Gandhi Maidan, the women present at the rally for change gave vent to the simmering anger against the Nitish regime.

What should be of concern to the government is that the women were not too bothered about day-to-day irritants like the erratic power supply or irregular LPG cylinder delivery. They had something much more basic on their mind — a life of security.

Sita Devi from Morwa in Samastipur came to Patna with 12 women from her village. When The Telegraph caught up with her around 11am, Sita said she had plonked herself under a shade from 9 in the morning only to see Lalu. “I am waiting for Laluji’s speech. I want to meet him and assure him that this time we will vote for him,” she said.

In the last Assembly elections, Sita had voted for Nitish. But now she is not so sure. “Nitish babu often talks about development in his speeches,” she said. “But if a minor girl is raped and the culprit is still enjoying his freedom, I fear that this development will lead to nowhere.”

Lalu too has been taunting the chief minister over the rising cases of atrocities against women during the NDA-II regime. “It is said that women played a crucial role in bringing back Nitish to power in 2010 and look what happened. Women teachers are assaulted by police. Rape has become rampant in Bihar,” he thundered at the rally.

Many like her from the districts even scoffed at Nitish’s claim of effective governance.

Laxmi Yadav, who came with 20 women from Wazirganj in Gaya, was seen supporting Lalu with high-pitched slogans. On the government schemes that failed, she said: “Cheap quality of ingredients used in making mid-day meals has led to children falling ill. The schools never follow the meal chart too. The icing on the cake is the appointment of Shiksha Mitras, many of whom can’t even write their names properly.”