A bomb blast at a crowded political rally is one of the most dreadful things to happen just six months before the Parliamentary polls. Apart from the grievous loss of life, it can also set off a dangerous guessing game, leading even to a communal backlash.
The first blast had occurred at a newly constructed toilet at Patna railway station. The there was a series of low intensity explosions on the outer periphery of the Gandhi Maidan and also outside a cinema hall, killing five people and injuring 66, according to agency reports. The blasts occurred hours before Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s “ hunkar rally” (war cry) at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan.
The gravity of the situation was amplified by President Pranab Mukherjee’s message advising caution and restraint, the Prime Minister calling up Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who cancelled his scheduled trip to Munger to take stock of the situation, and the Congress party terming it a “coincidence” and seeking an immediate probe.
Mega rallies
It was a day of mega rallies. Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, in his first rally in poll-bound Delhi, sought votes for three time-Chief Minister Shiela Dixit. Consciously side-stepping his controversial remark about the ISI trying to indoctrinate Muzaffarnagar riot victims, Rahul talked about developmental initiatives that changed the face of Delhi – metro rail network, new universities, new airport – and about the UPA Government’s pro-poor food security legislation.
But Modi, unfazed by the serial blasts in Patna, made a surprising move to reach out to jailed Rashtirya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Yadav voters.
The blasts did not deter thousands of BJP supporters who were entertained by Modi’s sharp attack on Nitish Kumar. Modi termed him an “opportunist and a backstabber” for severing electoral ties with the BJP. But politically the most important aspect of Modi’s rally was his attempt to woo Yadavs, who form 11 per cent of Bihar’s voters, by promising Lalu’s supporters that as a man from “Yaduvanshi king Sri Krishna’s Dwaraka” he will take care of all Yadavs in Bihar and UP.
Modi’s trademark attack on Congress’ dynastic politics and Shehzada or “prince” Rahul continued, probably provoking Congressmen to trigger a slanging match over the blasts.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh tweeted: “What a coincidence, blast at Patna railway (station) on the day of Modi’s rally… Nitish should find the culprit, otherwise a perfect setting for Modi’s launch in Bihar.”