Hardik Patel leaves Nitish Kumar, Lalu Yadav red-faced

PATNA: A day after Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti activist Hardik Patel hailed Shiv Sena ideologue Bal Thackeray and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, JD (U) and RJD on Friday did a U-turn by distancing themselves from the PAAS agitation.

Earlier this week, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad had backed Patel's demand for inclusion of Gujarat's Patels in the OBC list, though Kumar's colleague and JD(U) president Sharad Yadav differed and said Patels did not deserve reservation. However, Patel's endorsement of the Thackerays has forced the two parties to change their stand.

Both Lalu and Nitish have vehemently opposed the Thackerays' brand of politics in the past. While the late Bal Thackeray had repeatedly targetted Biharis living in Mumbai and had written editorials in Sena mouthpiece Saamna against them, his nephew Raj had led a violent campaign to oust north Indians, particularly Biharis, from Maharashtra a few years ago.

"We cannot stand with Hardik if he has diverted from his goal and is resorting to divide-and-rule tricks," said Lalu's son Tejaswi on Friday.