As it was expected, the alliance between the ruling party JD(U), RJD and Congress has finally been stitched on Sunday for the upcoming bypoll on 10 seats in Bihar. The formal announcement of the “grand alliance”, though, will be announced by the two leaders lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar when they come on a common platform on July 31.
“A grand alliance among the JD(U), RJD and Congress has been finalised with the JD(U) and RJD getting four seats each while, the Congress will contest on the remaining two seats”, said State JD(U) president Basistha Narayan Singh.Singh also said that the formal announcement of the “grand alliance” which was the urgent need of the hour to take on the BJP, would be announced later by the two leaders lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar.
Party sources said that the formal announcement would be made after Kumar’s return from Mumbai on July 30. Kumar has gone to Mumbai on a private visit.“Both the leaders could even share a common platform to make the formal announcement of the alliance between the parties”, said a party leader.The State JD(U) president, however, refused to divulge the specific seats from which the respective parties would contest saying that the details would be announced later.
“I’ve the list with me about specific Assembly seats to be contested by the JD(U), RJD and the Congress in the bypoll but, I will not throw light on it as of now…wait for some more days for the formal announcement”, he told mediapersons.Though, he emphatically said that both the leaders lalu and Kumar would campaign together in the upcoming Assembly bypoll on 10 seats.The State JD(U) chief even thanked leadership of all these parties for coming together to form the grand alliance in Bihar to contest against the resurgent BJP.
Earlier, on Saturday at RJD chief lalu Prasad’s Iftar party the JD(U) leader, Shyam Rajak had declared that the alliance has already been formalised between the two parties and the Congress. “Kumar and lalu Prasad have approved the alliance”, said Shyam Rajak.
A host of JD(U) leaders had attended lalu Prasad's Iftar Party where, interestingly, the RJD chief had refused to say anything on likely alliance or on other issues of politics.However, sources said, as per the agreement between the parties, JD(U) would contest on Mohania, Jale, Parbatta and Hajipur seats while RJD would put up its candidates on Banka, Chhapra, Mohiuddinagar and Rajnagar seats. The Congress would contest on Bhagalpur and Narkatiaganj Assembly seats.
Bypoll on 10 Bihar seats was necessitated by the election of some MlAs to the lok Sabha and resignation of others to join other parties. The upcoming Assembly bypoll on ten seats is being viewed by many in the political circle as the “semi-final: between the JD(U), RJD and Congress alliance and the BJP-led NDA alliance parties before the Assembly poll, due next year in October-November.
The bypoll would be held on August 21 and the result will be announced on August 25.Meanwhile, reacting over the “grand alliance” between the RJD and JD(U), the senior State BJP leader, Nand Kishore Yadav said that it was an “immoral alliance” as the mandate given to the JD(U) was anti-lalu.“laluji ke 15 saal ke jungle raj ke khilaf mandate mila tha aur aaj usi se JD(U) ne haath mila liya..yeh ek anaitik samjhuta hai”, said Nand Kishore Yadav adding that people of Bihar have been watching all this opportunistic development and they would vote for the BJP in the coming bypoll and Assembly elections next year.
The buzz in Bihar BJP is that, the party would contest on nine seats while, leaving one seat of Parbatta to the alliance party lJP. Though, nothing has been finalised yet in this regard but, the party leaders have been mulling over this seat-sharing arrangement, said sources. Another BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain, meanwhile, has said that the next Chief Minister of the State will be from BJP.
“There is no doubt that the next CM of Bihar will be from the BJP”, he said while addressing media persons. Hussain had lost the last lok Sabha poll from Bhagalpur Parliamentary constituency against RJD candidate Bulo Mandal.Hussain, interestingly, gave credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for uniting two bitter rivals for nearly two decades Nitish Kumar and lalu Prasad.“While Modi is uniting everyone in this country it’s because of him only that today Nitishji and laluji are together”, said the BJP leader.
The State Congress leaders Prem Chandra Mishra and party chief Ashok Chaudhury too have said that the party has decided to be a part of a grand alliance of secular forces to take on the BJP.