Dussehra: No BJP leader shares dais with Nitish

PATNA: Huge cutouts of demon king Ravana, his brother Kumbhakarna and son Meghnad were burnt on Dussehra here on Tuesday with traditional fanfare, but BJP leaders were conspicuous by their absence at the ceremony presided over by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, triggering fresh speculation of rift within the NDA in the state. The turnout at the historic Gandhi Maidan - which has been the venue for 'Ravana Vadha' since ages - was thinner than usual, understandably because of the destruction wrought upon the city by heavy rainfall which has left many localities waterlogged. On the previous day, the cutout of Ravana - the largest among the three - came down crashing apparently because of the ground lacking firmness to hold its weight. It was later erected with the help of machines and supported with huge bamboo sticks to make it stand tall till the next day. Nevertheless, the chief minister - flanked by senior political figures like assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and state Congress president and MLC Madan Mohan Jha took to the dais erected for the festivities at the assigned hour and kicked off the ceremony by lighting lamps. After rendition of songs and performance of dances depicting the epic battle in which the ten-headed monster was slain by Lord Ram and his army, the cutouts laden with firecrackers burst into flames amidst chants in praise of the king of Ayodhya who took on the mighty emperor of Lanka to secure the release of his abducted wife Sita. All eyes, however, lingered on the empty seats on the dais which were supposed to be occupied by Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad - who is also the local MP - Pataliputra MP Ram Kripal Yadav and state minister and local MLA Nand Kishore Yadav, among others.