Anybody reaching Patna on Tuesday with an oiled lathi [baton] and a Rashtriya Janata Dal flag can expect great hospitality for a day from the managers of a lathi rally to be held on Wednesday in the Mahatma Gandhi maidan.
Bihar's capital has been painted green by the organisers of the rally who expect nearly two million people to attend.
The official residences of ministers, RJD MLAs and even leaders from the lower cadre have virtually been turned into guesthouses offering the choicest of foods, beverages and accomodation.
Several ministers have also planned non-stop all night musical shows at their respective bungalows and are vying with each other to make the night a memorable one.
The biggest attraction of the musical extravanza is Altaf Raja, the popular Bollywood singer and Qawwal, who will perform at the residence of Commercial Taxes Minister Abdul Bari Sidiqui.
Chief minister's brother Subhash Yadav, MLC, has invited popular bhajan and ghazal singer Ajit Kumar Akela, who will perform with Masumi's orchestra to pep up the rallyists through the night.
Another brother Sadhu Yadav, MLA, has invited famous Bhojpuri folk singer Baleshwar Yadav to regale the rallyists at his residence.
Bihar Minister for Health Shakuni Choudhry's son Samrat Choudhry, MLA, has got a huge pandal erected at the Miller School ground where the famous Birha (Bhojpuri) singer Chaila Bihari will perform.
Wary of the over-enthusiasm, Laloo has cautioned his part's ministers against organising vulgar and raunchy shows and threatened them with disciplinary action if they do not abide by his directive.
The organisers of the rally have hired the services of caterers to prepare packets of puri-subji and litti-chokha, a popular Bihari delicacy for the return journey of rallyists.
They have also put up huge cutouts of Laloo Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi. These cutouts are bigger than the ones of leaders associated with the freedom movement.
The party has also been choosy in selecting the leaders whose cutouts will accompany those of Laloo and Rabri viewing the caste-community equation over its political base.
The Laloo-Rabri cutouts are aimed at the Yadav vote bank. The cutouts of Ambedkar, Mahatma Joyti Phule and Karpoori Thakur are targeted at the backward and scheduled castes groups and a cutout of Maulana Azad to attract the Muslim votebank. Interestingly, there are no cutouts of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
The RJD's leaders justified Laloo Yadav's call to people to come to rally armed with well oiled lathis on the ground that lathi symbolized rural Indian heritage associated with Mahatma Gandhi to drive away the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Laloo Yadav had during a party conclave a month ago urged the use of lathis to fight 'communal forces', which he said were represented by the BJP and its 'hardline Hindu affiliates that brandish tridents at any show of strength'.
In view of the summer season, cold water in will be available for the rallyists at the maidan and elsewhere. The state health department has geared up to meet medical emergencies during the rally and all hospitals have been put on alert.
With inputs from PTI
