NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday stepped up his attack on the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in poll-bound Bihar, questioning why the person responsible for bringing “jungle raj” (lawlessness) to the state is “missing” from the party’s posters. Although he did not name anyone, the remark was a clear reference to RJD chief and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.

“Look at the posters of the RJD and the Congress. The pictures of the person who brought ‘jungle raj’ to Bihar are either missing altogether or so tiny that they can’t be seen even with binoculars,” PM Modi said at a rally in Katihar.“The one who is such a big leader of the RJD, whose entire family is in politics — why are his pictures not being used?” he asked.PM Modi went on to question why Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son, Tejashwi, was “reluctant” to mention his own father’s name.“Why are you so ashamed to take your father’s name? What is the wrongdoing that the RJD feels compelled to hide from Bihar’s youth?” he remarked, without naming Tejashwi, the chief ministerial candidate of the RJD-led opposition Mahagathbandhan, which includes the Congress and other allies.The term “jungle raj” is frequently used by political opponents to attack Lalu Prasad Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, and the RJD.Bihar will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, with counting scheduled for November 14. The election is shaping up as a direct contest between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Mahagathbandhan.