Lalu wanted to invite Rahul Gandhi for the Lalu-Nitish big rally, the Swabhiman Rally, in Gandhi Maidan in Patna. When Lalu called up Rahul about it, sources say he didn’t come on the line, and didn’t return Lalu’s call either. This irked Lalu. In a dash, he called up Ashok Choudhury, president of Bihar Congress, and gave him an earful. Lalu made it clear that if only C P Joshi was going to take part in the rally from the Congress, he didn’t need the Congress in the coalition; he could contest the elections with Nitish alone. When Nitish found out about this, he immediately called Sonia Gandhi and spoke to her in clear terms. This happened just two days before the rally, and Nitish requested Sonia to send Rahul after advising him, so that Lalu could be cooled down. After remaining silent for a few moments, Sonia said she didn’t know about Rahul, but she promised to be in the rally – a promise that she fulfilled.