With His Close Ally Back In Jail, Lalu Dials Nitish Kumar To Make Peace

Patna: The festival of Durga Puja provided Lalu Yadav with an excuse to call Nitish Kumar after weeks of not-exactly-warm vibes in Bihar's leading political partnership.

Within minutes of their conversation ending, Lalu, as he is known, informed reporters, "There are no differences between us."

From the Chief Minister's home, located a minute's drive away, there was no comment.

Though major points of disagreement between them have been on fleek, Lalu said it is the opposition BJP that is trying to damage his alliance with Mr Kumar by misreporting facts, a claim that is perfunctory in its attempt to pass the buck.

Mr Kumar, sources close to him say, has been boiling over Lalu's failure to reprimand his party leader, Mohammed Shahabuddin, who, days after leaving jail, described him as "a Chief Minister of circumstances" who can claim no credit for his role as the head of the state.

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Mr Shahabuddin's critique was followed by the Bihar government successfully urging the Supreme Court to return him to jail because of the seriousness of an array of crimes that he is charged with. 

The former MP is named 45 cases.

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Lalu's aides say that Mr Shahabuddin's considerable power in and around the region of Siwan, where he is referred to as "Saheb" or "boss", make it unviable for Lalu to oppose him in any way. Mr Kumar's move to oppose Mr Shahabuddin's bail therefore did not have Lalu's tacit or overt support.

In fact, Lalu then asked a senior leader from Mr Kumar's party why the Chief Minister appears "in such a hurry" to place Mr Shahabuddin back in the jail, where he has spent the last 11 years, a remark that further antagonized Mr Kumar.

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The Chief Minister and Lalu also disagree privately about the state's liquor ban. While Mr Kumar is the fervent champion who ensured a state-wide alcohol ban was implemented six months ahead of schedule, Lalu agrees with the criticism of the policy as hyper-severe. After the Patna High Court declared the law illegal, the Supreme Court last week said it will study the policy and till it delivers its verdict, the alcohol ban will remain in effect.