Prayer time

On the eve of the third round of polling on May 7, the prime minister, Narendra Modi, prayed at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and held a road show there. The visit has left many wondering what drove Modi to pray before Ram Lalla once again within a span of just three months or so. Was it to remind voters that Modi had delivered on his promise to build a Ram temple, lest they had forgotten? Or was it to seek divine intervention in the elections? These questions have gained strength because of the low voter turnout in the ongoing polls and ground reports that indicate a ‘waveless’ election. Modi and other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have always harped on the Ram temple in all their poll rallies but there has been a subtle change in recent times. Earlier, their tone betrayed arrogance with leaders highlighting how Ram Lalla was rescued from a tent and installed in a grand abode by Modi. Now the stress is on accusing the Opposition of insulting Ram. “The guru of the Congress’s ‘shehzada’ has said that construction of the Ram temple was against the idea of India. I want to ask you, is worshipping Ram anti-national?” Modi asked the crowd at a poll rally recently.

Friends to foes

Two of Bihar’s tallest leaders who have been friends for over 50 years have suddenly stopped talking and a thaw in their relationship will clearly take some time — the chief minister, Nitish Kumar, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal president, Lalu Prasad. They met at the oath-taking ceremony for newly-elected members of the legislative council — this included Lalu’s wife and former CM, Rabri Devi — but did not talk.

Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The two had always maintained their friendship, notwithstanding divergent political turns. They were known to visit each other, hold hands, hug, and chat about personal matters whenever they met, irrespective of which political camp they were in.

But this bond has been broken during the high-decibel, no-holds-barred campaigning in this Lok Sabha election. While Lalu poked fun at Nitish’s suspected dementia and wondered what other diseases he would contract in the coming days, the latter hit back by repeatedly raising the issue of corruption and wondering out loud why anybody should have so many children — Lalu has nine. The RJD chief kept quiet for a few days but then asserted, “Even if he comes to my house, I will just say thank you. His tongue slips so much. It seems he is suffering from some illness.”

Family first

His family clearly is close to Lalu Prasad, who is said to be a doting father when it comes to his daughters. His second daughter, Rohini Acharya, is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Saran in Bihar and is pitted against the incumbent member of Parliament and former Union minister, Rajiv Pratap Rudy. However, queering her pitch was a namesake of Lalu who had filed nominations from the same constituency. He is infamous for bagging thousands of votes, leading to the defeat of Rabri Devi at the hands of Rudy in 2014. The RJD chief thus mobilised his trusted aides to get in touch with his namesake and convince him to withdraw his candidature. Only time will tell if this helps Rohini.

Silent treatment

Not all families are a source of comfort though. The former PM, HD Deve Gowda, is perhaps facing the worst phase of his life. His son, HD Revanna, is in judicial custody and his grandson, Prajwal Revanna, has been charged with sexual offences and is absconding. Gowda has thus chosen to stay silent. Party sources say the 90-year-old veteran leader is heartbroken. That HD Revanna was taken from his father’s house in Bengaluru is an indication that Gowda knew about the incoming trouble. Once known for advising and admonishing his wards and party workers, Gowda needs to do much more to help restore public faith in the family.

Hungry marchers

An Aam Aadmi Party leader has revealed that the Congress’s North East Delhi candidate, Kanhaiya Kumar, and his team were surprised when asked to pay for the daily expenses of the AAP workers campaigning for him. The Congress’s reach in the area is limited to mostly Muslim-majority pockets and Kanhaiya has had to humour the AAP, which calls the shots in the constituency. AAP workers clearly march on their stomachs.

Curious choice

Only journalists from Israel and Bhutan were part of the international delegation that was in India to observe the polls. Already under a cloud for its timid enforcement of electoral rules and delays in voter turnout announcements, there are now murmurs about the Election Commission of India’s choice of visiting countries — Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy where India plays big brother and Israel stands accused of genocide.