Bihar not shining because of Laloo: Advani

Recalling his arrest 14 years ago in Samastipur during the Ram rath yatra, Advani said that incident contributed to the growth of BJP. ‘‘I must be thankful to the state government for having arrested me then and caused the fall of the V.P. Singh government.’’ Reacting to Advani’s statement, Laloo said V.P. Singh had sacrificed his government for maintaining communal harmony.

Advani’s cavalcade rolled in to Gopalganj district from eastern UP around 12.30 pm, three hours behind schedule. Besides a moderate crowd, BJP Bhagalpur candidate Sushil Modi, state party chief Gopal Narayan Singh and leader Tarakant Jha attended the meeting. Rabri Devi’s brother Sadhu Yadav and JD(U)’s Prabhu Singh are the other candidates here.

The BJP cadre is unhappy with Prabhu Singh, who is an uninspiring candidate, allege party leaders. Meanwhile, Advani stopped for brief interactions wih temple priests and primary school children at several places.

The Deputy Prime Minister’s late entry into Bihar was marked with confusion. The bus public address system went on the blink at the very first meeting on the UP-Bihar border, making it impossible for the crowd to hear him. Unaware of the snag, Advani continued speaking. In Gopalganj, a small group of CPI(ML) youth and student wing members were thrashed by BJP workers and Bihar police because they held a banner that read ‘‘the man responsible for Babri Masjid demolition go back’’. Though there were a handful of Muslims watched the motorcade, none of them were inclined to voting for the BJP.

Advani reached Muzaffarpur at 7.30 pm from where NDA convener George Fernades is contesting. Due to the delay, the last public meeting at 7 pm in Patna seemed doubtful as the EC has set a 10 pm deadline for meetings. Advani will travel to Jharkhand on Thursday.