A new equation? Kejriwal hugs Lalu at Nitish's swearing-in ceremony

Patna: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had declined to campaign for Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, was seen hugging the former Bihar chief minister during the oath-taking ceremony of Nitish Kumar.

Kejriwal had advocated for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the Bihar elections. However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief had refused to campaign for the grand alliance, which registered a win in the electrifying Assembly elections.

The grand alliance also called as 'Mahagathbandhan' was a front formed by Janata Dal (United), RJD and Congress to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Bihar polls.

Earlier, reports had emerged in the media that Kejriwal, who harps on being an anti-corruption crusader, might choose to stay away from campaigning, keeping in mind that Nitish's alliance with Lalu, who was found guilty in the multi-crore fodder scam, might hamper his party's image in the long run.

Though the AAP chief never spoke in favour of Lalu, he repeatedly appealed to the Bihar electorate to vote for Nitish.

Nitsh's swearing-in ceremony today was attended by several political leaders cutting across party lines.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, National Conference leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, ex-Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu attended the oath taking ceremony.

Former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav had slammed Kejriwal for joining hands with Nitish, saying the move amounted to "selling out the soul of the anti-corruption movement".

Yadav had attacked the Delhi Chief Minister for supporting Nitish and Lalu ahead of Bihar elections against the BJP. "A person who was a hero of the anti-corruption movement will now be spotted with Nitish on one side and Lalu on the other."