Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar celebrates Chhath.
As Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar celebrates Chhath puja, the biggest festival in the state, no celebrations are being observed at Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and former chief minister Lalu Prasad's home in Patna this year.
Chhath celebrations at Lalu Prasad's Patna home used to be the highlight of the festival in the state. But with the RJD chief away in Ranchi serving a jail term and his two sons having had a falling out with each other, it's not the same this year.
While Lalu Prasad is observing Chhath in the paying ward of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi, where he is undergoing treatment at present, his wife Rabri Devi is unwell and has therefore abstained from fasting.
Their elder son Tej Pratap Yadav has been in Mathura for the past several days. Tej Pratap does not live with the family ever since differences cropped up between him and his wife Aishwarya Rai last year.
At Chief Minister's residence, where Nitish Kumar's sister-in-law and a host of family members are observing the fast amid fanfare.
The rituals started on Saturday evening with the women performing oblations to the setting sun standing inside the swimming pool in the CM's house. Nitish Kumar himself welcomed the guests, including state Governor Fagu Chauhan, and served them prasad after the puja.