He came, he spoke but something was missing. A two-word epithet he had previously never tired of repeating.

In his election speech in Bihar on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seemed to have forgotten to say “jungle raj”.

For years that expression had been Modi’s staple invective against the RJD — a reference to its rule between 1990 and 2005 when Bihar was blighted by kidnappings and murders.

But the tables have turned following a spate of murders in NDA-ruled Bihar, including 13 in a fortnight in capital Patna.

Matters came to a head on Thursday when five gunmen walked into a private hospital in Patna, shot a patient dead and coolly walked away, prompting RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav to hurl the “jungle raj” insult back at Nitish Kumar’s BJP-supported government.

At Friday’s rally in Motihari, Modi restricted himself to accusing the RJD of corruption and nepotism. And somewhat alarmingly for the embattled chief minister, he coined a new slogan for the upcoming Bihar polls, stressing an “NDA sarkar” rather than a “Nitish sarkar”.

A gleeful Tejashwi poured scorn on Modi for his sudden abstinence on “jungle raj”. He went on to flag the crime spurt in the state.

“Yesterday 7 murders, today several more murders. According to Bihar Police, a bloody season in Bihar! Not even the word ‘jungle raj’ came out of the PM’s mouth at the Motihari rally today. Is the PM also scared of criminals?” Tejashwi posted on X.

“Jungle raj” had had outings in both of the Prime Minister’s recent rallies in the state, in May and June, where he sought to caution voters against letting the RJD-led Opposition return to power.

“Lalu Prasad and his family snatched land from poor people during RJD rule in Bihar. They never thought of the betterment of the poor. That was jungle raj,” Modi had said in Karat, south Bihar, in May.

In June, he told Siwan: “Those who brought jungle raj to Bihar are looking to return to power anyhow and repeat their misdeeds…. The people of Bihar have to be very alert for the future of your children and keep them out.”

NDA, not Nitish

One of two slogans that Modi coined on Friday seemed to carry a veiled message about the absence of any guarantee that Nitish would become chief minister again if the NDA returned to power.

“Banayenge naya Bihar, phir ek baar NDA sarkar (Will build a new Bihar, an NDA government again),” Modi said.

This at a time when the chief minister’s party, the JDU, has been chanting “Phirse Nitish sarkar (A Nitish government again)”.

The BJP has declared that Nitish will lead the NDA to the polls, expected in October-November, but its leaders have avoided an unequivocal confirmation that he remains the chief ministerial candidate.

Nitish has been Bihar’s longest-serving chief minister, having occupied the post since 2005 barring a small break when he handed over the reins to his then colleague Jitan Ram Manjhi.

Modi, in his speech, lauded Nitish for transforming Bihar but stopped short of announcing that he would lead an NDA government again.

In 2020, the BJP had bagged nearly double the seats won by the JDU but offered the top job to Nitish. It’s widely believed that it wouldn’t be so large-hearted this time in similar circumstances.

Modi coined a second slogan, too, stressing Bihar’s firm association with the NDA.

“Bihar ka sankalp atal, NDA ke sath har pal (Bihar’s firm resolve is to always be with the NDA),” he said.

The Prime Minister focused on the welfare schemes of the central and state governments. He promised more development, conjuring the dream of turning Motihari, district headquarters of East Champaran, into a Mumbai of the East.

“I would like Motihari in the east to develop like Mumbai in the west. Gayaji in Bihar should be as developed as Gurugram and Patna should have industrial growth like Pune,” Modi said.