‘BJP will be wiped out’: Lalu before leaving for Delhi

RJD president Lalu Prasad on Saturday predicted a wipe-out for the formidable BJP, displaying his characteristic swagger that remains diminished in the face of old age, failing health and legal troubles.

”Don’t worry, the BJP will be wiped out (safaya ho jaega)”, was the septuagenarian’s terse reply when journalists drew his attention to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s fulminations at a rally in Purnea on Friday.

Prasad, whom sentences in fodder scam cases and numerous ailments have kept away from active politics, spoke at the airport here before boarding a flight for Delhi. In the national capital, he is expected to be joined on Sunday by arch-rival turned ally Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, in meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi for discussions on opposition unity.

Kumar is also scheduled to attend a rally in Haryana, along with his deputy and Prasad’s son Tejashwi Yadav. The rally organised by former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala is expected to be attended by a host of opposition leaders.