Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad and his son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi got tongues wagging when they turned up at former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's iftar party on Sunday.
Manjhi was made the chief minister by Nitish Kumar after the drubbing Janata Dal (United), JD(U), got in the last Lok Sabha elections. However, he had proved a difficult customer when Kumar wanted the state's top job back after a few months' sabbatical.
Though Tejaswi clarified that there were no political implications of the visit as it was only a social overture, other observers said it suited both Prasad and Manjhi, who were in talks to form an alliance before the Assembly elections in the state.
"Through the visit, Lalu sent a message to Nitish that he cannot be taken for granted and Manjhi sent a message to BJP," said a JD(U) leader. Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha is in a coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
