The opposition in Bihar on Sunday had a field day sharing photographs, on social media, of a much less than expected turnout at the workers rally of the ruling Janata Dal (United) which was addressed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, its national president.
State JD(U) president Vashishtha Narayan Singh had said recently that about "two lakh" party workers were expected at the "karyakarta sammelan" seen as a virtual show of strength by the party ahead of the assembly elections which are about half a year away.
However, images that have gone viral, suggest that only a fraction of the sprawling Gandhi Maidan having a capacity of about half a million could be filled by the attendees.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav shared numerous such photographs on his Twitter handle calling the rally, a 'maha nukkad sabha' (a huge street gathering) and taunted the JD(U) with the offer of 'maha badhai' (heartiest congratulations) upon the 'maha saphalta' (grand success).
For good measure, he also shared pictures of his own rally at Motihari where the turnout appeared to be quite impressive.
Congress MLC Prem Chandra Mishra, who is also an AICC media panelist, shared photographs on his social media accounts showing heaps of food strewn outside the residence of a JD(U) legislator, who lives next door.
"It appears that my fellow MLC got livid over the poor attendance at the rally and ordered that all the rice, lentils, vegetables and other edibles prepared for the attendees be thrown away. This is appalling.
"We sympathize with the JD(U) leaders frustration but they could have, at least, taken the trouble to get the food distributed among the poor and the needy," Mishra told PTI.
Bihar Congress spokesman Rajesh Rathore claimed in a statement, "Not even 15,000 people turned up to listen to Nitish Kumar who has been the Chief Minister for 15 years".
State RJD spokesman Chitaranjan Gagan said, "It was a colossal wastage of resources. The number of vehicles parked at the venue of the rally exceeded the number of people in attendance."
Hindustani Awam Morcha spokesman Danish Rizwan said, "The JD(U) rally was an insult to the glory of Gandhi Maidan known for its historic turnouts. They should have chosen a smaller ground which might have spared them the poor optics and left Gandhi Maidan free for more worthwhile causes."
Former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, who heads the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, tweeted "despite blatant misuse of government machinery, only a handful of supporters could be brought at the rally. Achievements trumpeted by Nitish Kumar in his speech exist only on paper. The people are well aware of the abysmal situation of law and order, health and education.
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