Narendra Modi with Ram Vilas Paswan in Muzaffarpur. (PTI photo)
In Nitish Kumar's Bihar, Narendra Modi today welcomed latest ally, Ram Vilas Paswan and his son Chirag, to the BJP-led NDA - he called it the National Development Alliance - and also used their shared stage to take several swipes at the Bihar Chief Minister.
Mr Modi praised Mr Paswan for "not being a hypocrite." (
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"Paswan quit the NDA and expressed his anger. But in all these years, he always met us with affection. I know some leaders who meet you in private, but break into a sweat at shaking hands in public," he said, without naming Nitish Kumar, who heads the Janata Dal (United) government in Bihar.
Twelve years ago Ram Vilas Paswan had walked out of the National Democratic Alliance that the BJP leads, over the 2002 communal violence in Mr Modi's Gujarat. Today he said he wants to see Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. "Incidents happen, the riots happened in Gujarat 12 years ago, there have been nothing since then. But here in Bihar they happen every year," he said.
The BJP sees Mr Paswan's return as a neon light that Mr Modi, its prime ministerial candidate, is no longer unacceptable to potential allies. Its Muzaffarpur rally today sent that message to Mr Kumar, who ended a 17-year alliance with the BJP last year over Mr Modi's elevation.
Mr Modi tore into the Nitish Kumar government. "In Bihar, it is news when there is electricity, not when there's a power cut," he sniggered.
He made several references to Mr Paswan and Chirag, who was at the forefront of political negotiations with the BJP before the Paswans signed up with the NDA again last week. Mr Paswan introduced his 32-year-old son as the future of his party. "Our generation is on its way out, Chirag's generation is up and coming," said Mr Paswan, 67.
Mr Paswan quit a long-running alliance with Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal after they failed to agree on seat sharing. The RJD is negotiating a tie-up with the Congress for the state's 40 Lok Sabha seats.