Patna,(BiharTimes): Though the comment of Bharatiya Janata Party national president Amit Shah on former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar evoked sharp reaction from JD(U) and RJD chiefs Sharad Yadav and Lalu Prasad as well as the state chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi it is interesting to find that the saffron party leader has hardly anything to say against Lalu Prasad.

While addressing the National Council meeting in New Delhi on Saturday Amit Shah teased Nitish by asking as to what has happened to his Jungle Raj slogan against the 15 years rule and why has he gone to sit in the lap of Lalu Prasad?

However, political observers are surprised as to why he chose to target Nitish and say hardly anything against Lalu when the JD(U) got only 15.8 per cent votes while RJD-led alliance over 30 per cent in the recent Lok Sabha poll.

No doubt the BJP considers RJD a potent foe but its leaders are aware that Lalu Prasad is legally not in the position to take the mantle of leadership of the grand alliance. So why waste so much energy in targeting him.

Besides, the RJD chief has always been opposed to the saffron party. In contrast the BJP nurtured and promoted Nitish Kumar for over 17 long years.

After the 1995 Assembly election Nitish was virtually decimated as a political force. A year later he embraced the BJP. By 1998 he was a prominent member of the Vajpayee cabinet.

In 2005 he became the chief minister of the BJP-JD(U) alliance. So when Nitish deserted the BJP in June 2013 the latter felt betrayed and cheated. So their leaders train their guns more on him, than on Lalu Prasad.

Though chief minister Manjhi said on Sunday that Amit Shah has spoken what he had been asked to speak––obviously by Narendra Modi––the truth is that the prime minister now does not even deem it fit to take the name of Nitish in his speech.

Amit Shah deliberately singled out Nitish’s for criticism as he wanted to give a clear cut message to the party rank and file as well as voters that the BJP is not at all afraid of the coming together of the two bitterest rivals. The saffron party wants to remind Nitish of his actual ‘strength’ and tell the voters that he can not survive without any force––be it the BJP or the RJD.

With a sizeable number of Mandal votes in its kitty the BJP appears confident of performing well. Yet the leadership does not want the part workers to be complacent and take the August 21 by polls seriously.

As the saffron party wants to woo more and more Yadav votes its leaders do not unnecessarily criticize Lalu Prasad and thus make him strong as the latter is still the strongest leader of his caste.