— By Shashank Kumar
The run up to the Bihar assembly elections is turning out to be somewhat of a blockbuster movie… quite literally! The latest in this is a poster war between the NDA and the INDIA blocs. Patna witnessed a sharp political face-off on Thursday, September 4. While the BJP Mahila Morcha called for a Bihar bandh over derogatory remarks made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his mother, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) countered with a striking poster campaign.
The poster, displayed outside the RJD office, carried a clear message: the public wants Tejashwi Yadav as the next Chief Minister of Bihar. Featured prominently on it were Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, and Samajwadi Party chief and former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav.
The poster was a mock-up of the 1989 movie ‘Tridev’, starring Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, and Naseeruddin Shah.
The slogan read: “Virodhiyon ka karenge sarvanash, kehlayenge Tridev. Jan-jan ka hai ek hi nara, Palatu Chacha ko kar do kinara, Tejashwi Yadav bane mukhyamantri hamara.” Here, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was mocked as “Palatu Chacha”, due to his frequent changes in alliances to stay in power.
The poster comes soon after the conclusion of the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra,’ launched in protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter list. Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav led the campaign, with Akhilesh Yadav joining midway. Their joint appearances during the yatra seem to have inspired the ‘Tridev’-themed poster.
With Assembly elections in Bihar approaching and the official schedule expected shortly, the poster hints that the three opposition leaders could campaign together for the Mahagathbandhan. The poster in Patna’s Kurji area was reportedly put up by RJD supporter Dharmendra Mukhia.
While the RJD is setting the stage for Tejashwi’s leadership, the BJP countered during its bandh that voters will teach the opposition a lesson at the polls.