It's not been even a month since Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's exit from the grand alliance to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav seems already open for another U-turn of the JD(U) chief.
Prasad had been maintaining silence over Nitish Kumar's volte-face last month leaving RJD out of power in Bihar.
On Thursday, the two leaders were seen exchanging pleasantries inside the Vidhan Sabha complex where the RJD leader had gone to boost the morale of Manoj Jha and Sanjay Yadav who filed nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
This was the first encounter between them since Nitish Kumar's decision to ditch the Mahagathbandhan.
When Lalu Prasad was asked whether the bonhomie indicated that he was still open to rapprochement with Kumar, the RJD supremo replied "Let him come back. Then we will see (jab aaenge tab dekha jaaega)".
When pressed further, as to whether the door was still open for the former ally, Prasad replied "It is always open (khula hi rahta hai)".
JD(U) chief spokesman and MLC Neeraj Kumar, however, shot down the speculations saying, “Lalu ji says the doors are still open. He should know that the famous padlock of Aligarh has been placed on the doors. Our leader Nitish Kumar has clearly said whenever RJD has shared power with us, it has engaged in corruption. There is no question of going back.”
{{/usCountry}}JD(U) chief spokesman and MLC Neeraj Kumar, however, shot down the speculations saying, “Lalu ji says the doors are still open. He should know that the famous padlock of Aligarh has been placed on the doors. Our leader Nitish Kumar has clearly said whenever RJD has shared power with us, it has engaged in corruption. There is no question of going back.”
{{/usCountry}}Lalu Prasad's son and former Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav launched a fresh attack on Nitish Kumar while addressing the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on Friday in Sasaram .
"You all very well know how our CM is, he does not want to listen to anyone. He used to say 'I will die, but won't join BJP'...We decided to stay with Nitish ji, no matter how much we have to sacrifice, only to defeat BJP in 2024. We had appointed a tired Chief Minister, "said Tejashwi Yadav.
The paths of Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar have been intertwined with the politics of Bihar for decades and have been in power in the state for more than 33 years. They started out as allies during the JP movement, then became rivals, then allies, then rivals, then allies, and then rivals again.