Epic name-calling clouds Kurukshetra Bihar

PATNA: As the war-of-words gets sharper ahead of the year's biggest elections, the political theatre in Bihar is awash with a litany of mythological name-calling.From Ravana and Vibhisan to Duryodhana and Kansa to the use of negative terms as shaitan (devil), narbhakshi (cannibal) and brahmapisach (super demon), an acerbic campaign has seemingly derailed the development pitch in the state days before the first vote gets cast on October 12.

While Sonia Gandhi was called Putna by BJP MP from Buxar Ashwini Kumar Choubey , HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi was called Vibhihsan by Nitish Kumar recently. The incumbent CM, in turn, was called Ravana by the Mahadalit leader. Narendra Modi, meanwhile, has been called `brahmapishach' after earlier being labelled `Kaliyanag' by Lalu Prasad, who is still smarting after the PM used the term "shaitan" to hand him a dressing down at rallies on Thursday.

"I exposed their (BJP's) attempt to stop reservation, so he called me a devil. He is a brahmpisach. He has insulted Biharis by calling me shaitan. But, we knoww how to ward off demons," Lalu said on Friday .

Lalu's cannibal (narbhakshi) tweet against BJP president Amit Shah's `chara-chor (fodder thief) Lalu' comment at a recent rally in Begusarai dragged political rhetoric to a new low in Bihar. Shah had said Bihar -known for producing such great leaders as Jayaprakash Narayan and Karpoori Thakur -has earned a bad name because of "chara-chor Lalu", prompting the RJD chief to respond: " A man-eater (narbhakshi) who had been sent out of state boundary (tadipaar) should not teach Bihar a lesson."

Jan Adhikar Party-Loktantrik patron Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav has compared Lalu with Duryodhana and Kansa while BJP's Nand Kishore Yadav has warned people against `nila jehar' (Nitish-Lalu alliance).