Almost two decades later, Lalu Prasad is all set to pitch on the same “communal” image of the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, in a desperate bid to win over the Muslim support base in Bihar, which seems to be drifting away from him.

During a recently held two-day Chintan Shivir of the RJD in Bihar, Lalu launched a full-fledged attack against Advani and made it clear that it will be one of the main poll plank of the party’s campaign for the Lok Sabha polls due early next year. He called upon all the secular forces to realise the danger and unite against L K Advani.

RJD managers are busy drawing up a strategy that would appeal to the Muslim voters to keep away even from the JD(U)-BJP alliance in the state.

The need to pursue the Muslim voters is being felt by party leaders amid reports that of late the minority community has sympathetically inclined towards the Nitish Kumar regime in Bihar.

Talking to The Indian Express, senior party leader and MLA Shakeel Ahmad Khan said soon they would go all across Bihar to “awaken” the Muslims and make them realise the “danger of voting for the NDA”. “If Advani becomes the Prime Minister, then every Madrasa will be declared a terrorist training centre and every Muslim would be termed a terrorist. How can a Muslim or for that matter any other citizen vote to make Advani the PM?” Khan asked.

Lalu’s desperation to secure the over 15 per cent Muslim vote share in Bihar is understandable as reports from the ground indicate that Nitish Kumar has succeeded in winning over the sympathy of a large chunk of Muslim voters — particularly backward Muslims who constitute 85 per cent of the total minority population in the state.

The state Government is even taking the credit for the compensation package declared by the Centre for the Bhagalpur riots victims, claiming it had repeatedly demanded it.

Lalu too is trying hard to impress upon the Muslim voters that he got then the economic package. “When we were in the state, we had made a similar demand before the then Vajpayee Government, but it was turned down. Nitish Kumar does not have the moral right to take the credit for it since he too was in the Government then,” Lalu said.