When Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) decided to prepare about 600 kg of mutton biryani for its district-level meeting in Patna, it would have expected a good response from Muslim supporters. As it turned out, the party was shocked to see that only 500 people showed up for the meet. It all happened as JD(U) tried to win back the support of minorities in the state after it had joined hands with the BJP-led NDA in 2017.
The meeting was held at the SKM Memorial Hall in Patna. A party source told The Indian Express that the mutton biryani was cooked to attract the maximum number of people. The party had expected a good turnout since the function was taking place in the state capital.
When less than expected people showed up for the meet, the party workers had to finish off the biryani by offering it to the sundry workers and even to some uninvited visitors.
Different functions were conducted over the last fortnight across 30 district headquarters and they included top JD (U) leaders like- Rajya Sabha MP Kahkashan Parbeen, senior leader Ghulam Gous, minority cell state president Mohammed Salam and MLC and former Rajya Sabha MP Ghulam Rasool Baliyawi. None of the functions, according to the report could gather more than 1,500 people.
The JD(U) party’s distress did not end just here. R C P Singh, the JD(U) organisational general secretary had to face an embarrassment after he was asked to cut short his speech when someone from the audience shouted “Bas ho gaya ab (end your speech now).”
Party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar told IE that the poor presence has more do with lack of organisational efforts and logistics support than JD(U)’s commitment to the welfare of minorities. “We have introduced a host of education and welfare schemes for Muslims. There are people who are interested in making malls but we are the ones who fenced cemeteries,” he was quoted as saying. Muslims in the state of Bihar constitute of around 17 per cent of the population.
