The importance of being Nitish: Absence from rallies keeps Bihar guessing

Nitish Kumar's absence from Narendra Modi's recent rallies in Bihar has raised eyebrows. Archis Mohan's ground report looks at why it's still too early to write off the Bihar CM

Thousands from all corners of Patna and its adjoining districts converged in the heart of Bihar’s capital on Sunday evening, to participate in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow. As men, not an insignificant number of women, and young people cheered for the PM, an unsmiling Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh or ‘Lalan Singh’, who stood beside Modi, had many in the crowd wondering if all wasn’t well within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Singh, a close confidante of Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) President Nitish Kumar, was representing his party at the rally. 

 

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