When two big politicians from disparate political combos come together and decry the efforts of another, it can only mean one thing: realignment of forces. With Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan sharing the dais at Hajipur on Thursday, tongues are already wagging about what this could imply for the state and for Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.
This is the second instance in the recent past of the Kumar-Paswan bonhomie. Paswan, a Union minister in the UPA government, called Kumar, an NDA stalwart, a "revolutionary" chief minister. Kumar had equally flattering words to say about the Lok Janshakti Party chief.
Nitish and Paswan in Hajipur on Thursday
The occasion was the inauguration of projects worth over Rs 500 crore in Vaishali district, whose Hajipur con stituency is represented in the Lok Sabha by Paswan. Though the duo skirted any speculation about a political friendship, the JD(U) and LJP flags fluttering side by side and supporters shouting "NitishPaswan zindabad" had their own stories to tell. "My aim is Bihar's development and for that I am with Nitish Kumar. I am ready to bear anything for development," Paswan said.
Kumar too praised Paswan and, without taking names, he took digs at the RJD and Lalu, pointing out how they were unable to digest the development works undertaken by his government. "Instead of contributing to development they are resorting to politicking. Politicking can be sorted out during polls," he said.
In his speech senior leader and minister Ramashray Prasad Singh said that the coming together of the two leaders on the same platform would change the politics of the state in the days to come.
