As debates over the “growing proximity” between the JD(U) and the Congress are gaining momentum every day, the JD(U) president Sharad Yadav on Wednesday sought to scotch all speculation on the issue by stating that his party has no intention of forging an alliance with the Congress both pre- or post-2014 lok Sabha elections.
The JD (U) chief told newspersons in Saharsa on Wednesday that he does not find any possibility of his party entering into an alliance with the Congress before or after the lok Sabha election.
His comments have come at a time when Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was re-inducted into the BJP Parliamentary Board, the apex decision making body three days back, a development which was expected to make an impact on the party’s relationship with the JD(U), the oldest ally of the BJP.
Though Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has maintained a stoic silence over Narendra Modi’s elevation, his junior colleagues like JD(U) MlC Devesh Chandra Thakur had demanded an immediate meeting of the NDA to discuss the issue of the prime ministerial candidate for the next general elections.
Sharad Yadav like several other JD (U) leaders including State party president Vashishtha Narayan Singh, preferred to distance himself at least for the time being from the issue of Narendra Modi’s growing stature in the BJP.
Yadav remarked, “Narendra Modi’s elevation in the BJP hierarchy is an internal matter of the BJP”.
The JD(U) chief who also happens to be the NDA convener said that the name of the prime ministerial candidate would be decided by all allies of the NDA in their meeting at an appropriate time.
On the other hand, the State Congress has intensified its efforts to revive the party in the State, apparently keeping the issue of electoral alliance in abeyance for some time.
Bihar Congress president Ashok Choudhary who formally took over the charge of the party chief on Wednesday said that his party had made sacrifices for strengthening the secular forces in the State and will continue to do so in the future too, dropping hints that the party was not averse to exploring the possibility of an alliance with parties like RJD and lJP in the future.
The final decision, however, has to be taken by the Congress high command, he added.
Choudhary, a young Mahadalit leader said that the entire rank and file are with him and contradicted reports that there was any factionalism in the party.
Former Bihar Congress presidents like Sadanand Singh, Ram Jatan Sinha, Mehboob Ali Kaiser, senior Congress leaders Chandan Bagchi, VS Mishra, VS Dubey, Jyoti, MM Jha, Akhilesh Singh, Dasai Choudhary and Sanjeev Prasad Tony visited the party headquarters to express their solidarity with Ashok Choudhary.
The party’s first intentions seem to be galvanising the party cadre with full vigour as a meeting of district Congress presidents, block party presidents, heads of Youth Congress units and party delegates would be called soon to decide the future course of action.