In the heat and dust of a Bihar election rally, Mahagathbandhan ally Pappu Yadav suddenly stopped his speech. He then shouted at the beefy men who were standing menacingly in the front rows: “Eh, tum log muretha kholo (you guys take off your headgear)."

Muretha in Bihar is a traditional headgear made by wrapping a gamcha (a cotton towel) around the head. Politically, it is linked to Yadav aggression.

Even local Mahagathbandhan allies like Pappu Yadav were mindful not to bring back memories of the rough ways and hooliganism of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s infamous ‘jungle raj’ from 1990 to 2005.

They felt that things were not right, that the nightmarish Lalu regime days of kidnappings, murders, rapes, robberies, scams, and caste massacres were still fresh in the collective consciousness of Bihar. At least two generations of victims were still alive.

And that the NDA campaign was milking........

© News18