Modi-fied Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad pare outreach to Muslims

PATNA: Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad have not only buried the hatchet and joined hands after losing badly in the Lok Sabha elections but also toned down their outreach to Muslims. A fallout of the massive counter-mobilisation seen in favour of the Narendra Modi-led BJP during the polls, this was most apparent recently when the two leaders gave the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations a miss.

Moreover, both Kumar’s Janata Dal (U) and Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal have decided against fielding any Muslim candidate in the by-elections to be held on August 21 for 10 assembly seats. Analysts say this sharp departure from their usual practice, besides careful avoidance of the term ‘aqaliyat’ for invoking the cause of minorities, stems from a fear of stoking further mobilisation in favour of Modi’s party.

“Both Nitish and Lalu will not do anything which will lead to counter polarisation. They have already sanitised their political utterances. You can say they have ‘Modified’ themselves to cope with the resurgent NaMo forces,” said a political analyst, who did not wish to be named.

Kumar skipped the Eid celebrations at Gandhi Maidan for the first time since 2005 when he became chief minister, the post he gave up taking moral responsibility for his party’s defeat in general elections. Earlier, he also used to visit the homes of party leaders and bureaucrats belonging to the Muslim community. But this time round, he chose to stay away from the state and went to Mumbai on a private visit.