Patna: RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter Rohini Acharya on Thursday said she would visit former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s residence during Chhath to have the traditional “kharna” prasad, referring to him as her “chacha”. Kharna falls on Saturday.Speaking to reporters after arriving from Singapore, Rohini said, “Kyon nahin jayenge? Wo (Nitish) mere chacha hain! Kharna ka prasad khane jaroor jayenge ham (Why wouldn’t I go? He is my uncle. I will definitely go to partake in the Kharna prasad).”She also called for unity among opposition parties to defeat the BJP. “All opposition parties must stay united if they want to defeat BJP,” she said.Her remarks come amid rumours of differences between the JD(U) and BJP over the recent Bihar legislative council elections. The JD(U) fielded candidates on four of the eight seats contested but won only one. A section of party netas was particularly unhappy with the way two MLCs, Banshidhar Brajwasi and Rahul Raj, who had defeated JD(U) candidates, supported the BJP after the elections.Brajwasi defeated JD(U)’s Abhishek Jha in the Tirhut Graduates’ constituency, while Rahul Raj defeated Anand Pushkar in the Saran Teachers’ constituency. JD(U) state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha questioned Raj’s support to the BJP. Raj had been expelled from the party for six years for alleged anti-party activities.“Under what circumstances was Rahul Raj brought back so soon after being expelled? The BJP and its top leadership should reflect on this,” Kushwaha said.JD(U) minister Shrawan Kumar also raised questions over the alliance’s functioning, saying it needed to be examined who had let whom down. He referred to lapses, mistakes and a possible breach of trust during the elections, and asked how the issues could be resolved.BJP spokesperson Prem Ranjan Pate asserted that the NDA remained intact and cited the state govt’s decision to name a bridge after Nitish Kumar as a mark of respect for the former chief minister.
