Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad had a pleasant surprise on Thursday when he found his immediate neighbour from 7, Circular Road residence Nitish Kumar as a guest in his house to wish him on his 68th birthday.
Lalu, who stays at 10, Circular Road, the house allotted to his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi, reciprocated the gesture and assured everyone present there that “Nitish’s renewal as CM was certain.”
Aware of the fact that this could dampen the spirits of his (RJD) workers who always wanted Lalu to be at the helm, the astute RJD chief said: “Abhi toh main jawan hoon (I am still young). It could be my 68th birthday, although I am not sure of my date of birth, but I am still young at heart. I still have to cross many hurdles and milestones,” he told his supporters before cutting the cake in the presence of Rabri, his son Tej Pratap and other family members.
Lalu’s message was aimed to boost the sagging morale of his supporters who, of late, had been feeling let down ever since Lalu proposed Nitish’s name for the chief minister’s post in case of the Janata Parivar’s victory in the ensuing Assembly elections slated for October-November this year.
Showing great camaraderie with the JD (U) leader, Lalu said, “Nitish and I belong to the same family. For a while, we dithered. But now we are together and will halt the BJP’s march in Bihar or else the Bharat Jalao Party (in reference to the BJP) will expand its base up to West Bengal.”