Lalu Prasad Yadav takes over. He begins by saying, "I can speak openly, Nitish-ji is a bit shy," which earns the RJD chief a grin from the Bihar CM.

After 10 years in the wilderness, a short jail stint in the fodder scam and a ban from contesting elections for six years, the RJD is set to be the single largest party in the state (80: RJD, 72: JDU).

Excerpts from Round II of Lalu's speech.

"We can't slip after such a mandate. Bihar defeated the BJP's efforts to communalise it. We are not sure the PM's congratulations are sincere, but we can tell you that Modi-ji will have to go back to Gujarat. It's the beginning of the end of the BJP.  Our next stop will be Benaras. We may not have been invited by Ganga-ma like Modi-ji said he was, but we will take a lantern and go there and light up his constituency.


"There will be long term implications of the Bihar results on the country. To keep in them in power, is like breaking the country into pieces. People of Bihar understood that. BJP koi party nahi, woh ek mukhauta hai," Lalu said. "PM Modi is nothing but an RSS pracharak," he said.


On sulking and former Mahagathbandhan member, Mulayam Singh Yadav: Muklayam-ji ki hum sab log izzat karte hain, hum logon ki taraf se unke prati samman mein na koi kami thi, na hai aur na rahegi. We respect Mulayam Singh. Our regard for him has never been lessened, nor will it ever do.


(Incidentally, Lalu's daughter Raj Laxmi is married to Tej Pratap Singh Yadav, grand-nephew of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.)