New Delhi: A day after Bihar went to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on Thursday, former chief minister of Bihar and wife of RJD supremo, Rabri Devi, has alleged that Nitish Kumar had sent Prashant Kishor to meet Lalu Prasad Yadav five times in attempts to reunite Janta Dal United (JDU) and Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD).
“Prashant Kishore had visited our residence five times. I even threw him out of the house. He is a liar. He told Lalu ji that Nitish Kumar has sent him to form a merger between the two parties… but we protested, we don’t trust Nitish" said Rabri Devi.
She further elaborated that Prashant Kishor told Lalu to declare a PM face for the Lok Sabha polls. “Even security guards have seen him enter the house. Paltu ram, (referring to Nitish Kumar) had changed his stance before also and he was trying the same this time as well," added Rabri Devi.
Lalu in his recently released book, Gopalganj to Raisina, had written, "Kishor seemed to indicate that if I (Lalu) were to assure in writing my party's support to the JD(U), the latter would pull out of the BJP alliance and rejoin Mahagathbandhan."
Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor had last week dismissed the claim as "bogus" and said that Nitish Kumar had sent no feelers through him for Bihar chief minister's return to "Mahagathbandhan".
Reacting to an excerpt of the of Lalu Prasad, Kishor - currently the JD(U) national vice-president - tweeted, "The claims made by Laluji as reported are bogus. This is nothing but a poor attempt (at) seeking relevance by a leader whose best days are behind him.
Nitish Kumar had severed his ties with the Grand Alliance in July 2017, less than two years after his partnership with arch-rival Lalu and the Congress succeeded in delivering a crushing defeat to the BJP-led NDA in the assembly polls.
Reacting to the claim in the book, Chief minister Nitish Kumar had also accused RJD chief Lalu violating prison rules by talking to politicians over phone from ‘jail’. The JD(U) president also said Lalu talks to poll strategist and his party vicepresident Prashant Kishor from inside the jail.
“…Despite having such wide network as a strategist, he (Kishor) felt that he is a native of Bihar and should be with a party of his choice in the state. This is a matter of appreciation. But that person (Kishor) meets many people, many things are said, you never know who will say what. Even Lalu ji talks to him. People know this. Lalu ji talks to people even from inside jail. Whatever may be the rules, but you cannot talk from inside jail. Doesn’t everyone know the fact," Nitish had told a News18 in an interview.
Lalu is currently undergoing treatment at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi under judicial custody after his conviction in fodder scam cases. Maximum three people are allowed to meet him there every Saturday.
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