Patna: About 50,000 guests are likely to attend the wedding ceremony of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s elder son Tej Pratap Yadav with Aishwarya Rai on Saturday in Patna. Going against Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s campaign of keeping wedding parties a low key affair, the wedding is being seen as a major event in the capital city as the guest list includes several high-profile politicians, ministers, industrialists and other celebrities.
The hosts have invited 50,000 guests to the wedding ceremony at the sprawling veterinary college ground in Patna. Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Vadra are among the dignitaries likely to attend the wedding.
"We have received confirmation that Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi will also attend the wedding. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is also among the dignitaries invited from across the country. We hope to receive many more confirmations of visit by the end of the day," RJD national general secretary and MLA Bhola Yadav told reporters on Friday.
The gala event in Patna will see imported flowers from Thailand being used to decorate the stage while the main entrance to the venue will be decorated with Bihar’s Mithila painting. However, a day ahead of the wedding, gates of the 7, Circular Road residence were decorated not only with flowers but also lemon chili to ward off bad omen.
The expansive venue would boast of more than 200 food corners to serve the guests while RJD spokesman Shakti Singh Yadav who is overseeing the preparations told News18 that the food will be vegetarian. “Lalu Ji is a firm believer and worshipper of Lord Shankar. He believes non-vegetarian dishes should be avoided on such pious occasions.”
From starters to main course, guests will get a taste of the authentic Bihari cuisine with items such as the famous ‘litti chokha’ and ‘makka roti’.
Some of the cooks who are preparing the food have been brought in all the way from Haryana’s Rewari.
Among other decorations, a grand stage overlooking the air-conditioned pandal is being prepared where Aishwarya and Tej Pratap will garland each other.
Meanwhile, Lalu Yadav has been granted parole to attend the wedding and on Friday the Jharkhand High Court extended his relief by granting six weeks’ bail on medical grounds.
Veterinary College Ground is the same place where Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi had planned his son’s marriage last December that was attended by Lalu Prasad and was considered a goodwill gesture after a round of acrimonious exchange between Tej Pratap and Modi.
Ignoring their political differences, Tej Pratap went up to Sushil Modi to invite him for his wedding. However, Sushil Modi will not be attending the event as he is on an official tour to Poland.
The wedding party of Modi’s son was a simple affair in which guests were served only four pieces of ‘laddoo’ as prasad. He also chose not to print any wedding cards and showcased the event to highlight Nitish Kumar’s campaign against dowry and expensive wedding parties. Many political leaders of BJP and JD(U) have stuck to it with weddings in their families while Lalu is following his own style.
RJD leader Shakti Yadav told News18 that more than 20,000 cards have been distributed and no request to not bring gifts for the newly-married couple were made in these cards.
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