The good cheer on display comes after Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar's party traded angry incriminations about who is to blame for a recent spate of crimes in Bihar.
As the winter harvest is celebrated in different states today, Lalu Yadav splashed the festival with his trademark flamboyance in Bihar. Lalu, as he is known, first hosted his ally, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, for a lavish meal and marked his forehead with a
dahi-tilak, considered very auspicious. Lalu said the
tilak is intended specifically to ward off the "tantra-mantra" of the opposition BJP and its attempts to undermine Mr Kumar's coalition government.
Lalu served the Chief Minister, 64, personally, who was seated next to Tejashwi Yadav, Lalu's 26-year-old son and the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.
Lalu has recently been accused of playing "Super Chief Minister" by
dictating orders to officers in the Health department, headed by his other son, Tej Pratap Yadav, 28. The 67-year-old politician has brushed off those accusations, stating that he is ensuring good governance for the state.
The good cheer on display also comes after Lalu and Mr Kumar's party traded angry incriminations about who is to blame for a recent spate of crimes in Bihar, which have allowed the opposition to allege that "jungle raj" or lawlessness has returned to Bihar.
Lalu's term as Chief Minister in the 90s was marked by scandals of deep corruption and crime. He was convicted of graft in 2013, and though he has challenged the verdict, he cannot run for office till he is acquitted.
Lalu's both sons and wife Rabri Devi also attended the dahi-chooda event.
After the Chief Minister's house call, Lalu attended another lunch attended largely by politicians where he professed that the alliance between his Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Mr Kumar's party will "govern Bihar for another 20 years."