The absence of Lalu Prasad in his son Tejashwi’s poll campaign — even his photo was missing from the campaign posters — did not go down well with the former CM’s diehard supporters. One explanation for keeping Lalu out of the public eye was the apprehension that his presence would revive unhappy memories of his ‘jungle raj’, which his opponent made a campaign issue. However, others close to Lalu’s family hint that the former CM’s exclusion was because of fears over his failing memory. For instance, the Bihar leader was unable to recognise some visiting Delhi journalists with whom he had interacted for years. RJD insiders grumble that in his younger days, the politically savvy Lalu could not have been persuaded to pose with his grandchildren dressed in westernised Halloween costumes, which clearly did not resonate well with his Yadav vote bank. The knives are out in both the RJD and Lalu’s own family for Sanjay Yadav, the outsider from Haryana on whose advice the gullible Tejashwi relied completely. Ironically, although the RJD highlighted Nitish Kumar’s age and erratic behaviour to underline his unsuitability, Nitish’s popularity with the voters has remained intact.

If master campaign strategist Prashant Kishor fell flat, it was because his huge presence on social media and impressive election rallies, with over........

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