Lalu likely to land in Patna today

PATNA: Ailing Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad is expected to return to Patna on Friday afternoon after a long stay in New Delhi following his kidney transplant surgery in Singapore in December, party functionaries aware of the development said.

“There are chances of the RJD chief returning to Patna on Friday. He is likely to come by an afternoon flight,” said Chittaranjan Gagan, state spokesperson.

Lalu had come to Patna in mid-August last year and left after staying in the state capital for less than a month in mid-September.

Lalu’s return assumes significance at a time when chief minister Nitish Kumar is working to forge a larger opposition front to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. There are also speculations that a high-level meeting of various opposition parties to chalk out a blueprint for the proposed front would be held in Patna in mid-May.

On Thursday, Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav called on the RJD chief at the residence of Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti in New Delhi. The meeting comes after the CM had met the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister in Lucknow on April 25.