BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Between many focused attacks on arch political rival Nitish Kumar in Bihar today, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi made clear that he also aims to step on Lalu Yadav's toes in his attempt to win a big share of the state's 40 seats in next month's general elections.
Mr Modi in his speech in Purnia today, made a strong pitch to lure Bihar's Yadavs, a dominant OBC community traditionally engaged in dairy-farming, who are a significant 14 per cent of the electorate.
"In the two states, members of the Yaduvansh community wield a lot of clout. In fact, one of them is ruling Uttar Pradesh. But are those who survive on animal husbandry getting the right remuneration for milk? In UP, milk was being sold at Rs 18 per litre before the advent of Amul. It is now being sold at Rs 35-40 per litre,'' Mr Modi said.
He asked the community to reject "the old, entrenched leadership, they haven't given you anything.'
Political power had shifted out of the hands of the Yadav community in Bihar in 2005, when the Janata Dal (United)-BJP combine ousted Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD. The alliance represented a broad social coalition comprising the upper castes, non-Yadav OBCs, and a section of Dalits and Muslims. The Yadav-dominated RJD, which ruled the state for 14 long years, was pushed to the margins after 2005.
In neighboring Uttar Pradesh, where the Yadavs are only marginally lesser than in Bihar, the Samajwadi Party, which thrives on the backing of the Muslim-Yadav (M-Y) combine, stormed back to power in the assembly polls held in March, 2012. The Akhilesh Yadav government however, has since then been pilloried for its failure to contain communal riots and the slide in law and order, and for alleged corruption.
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar together account for 120 of the 543 seats for which elections will be held. Opinions polls have predicted that the BJP is likely to do well in the two states.