Amidst the reports of Congress’ dilemma over choosing between RJD and JD(U) and lJP cosying up with Nitish Kumar in Bihar, RJD president lalu Prasad Yadav rushed to the Capital seeking another round of meeting with Congress leadership with an eye to forge an alliance for lok Sabha polls.
While Paswan met Congress president Sonia Gandhi a few days back, Prasad met both the Sonia and party’s vice-president Rahul Gandhi and is anticipating to meet others senior Congress leaders shortly. In his last meeting almost ten days ago, lalu regretted his decision to give only three of the 40 lok Sabha seats to the Congress in 2009 and promised that the mistake won’t be repeated.
lalu on Tuesday praised Congress as an “umbrella” organisation of secular forces, and Paswan a “gentleman”. While attacking his bete noire Nitish Kumar whom he accused of hobnobbing with BJP all along and was now claiming to be secular, lalu said all the three parties (Congress-RJD-lJP) must come together to stop the communal and fascist forces.
The lJP fought last lok Sabha polls in Bihar in alliance with RJD while Congress contested alone. RJD managed to win four seats while lJP drew a blank. Even Paswan lost from his bastion Hajipur. Congress had bagged two seats in 2009. Both RJD and lJP regretted their decision to keep Congress out and are wooing the national party this time.
Sources in lJP have said the party has opened its channel of communications with JD(U), which is also keen on a tie-up with the party. On a question about whether he would side with lalu or Nitish, Paswan on Tuesday said the decision on an alliance is open to Congress and will go with it wherever it goes but suggested the grand old party for an earliest decision.
Paswan’s statement is significant after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar praise worthy words for Paswan and both of them reciprocating to reach other by terming “old friend.” Nitish had earlier denied any talks with Congress for tie-up in Bihar. However presently, with 118 MlAs of its own, JD(U) Government runs on the support of four Congress MlAs, as many Independents and one CPI-MlA in the 238-member Bihar Assembly.
After the drubbing in the 2009 lok Sabha elections in which Paswan even lost his seat from Hajipur, the lJP chief could enter Rajya Sabha only with the help of RJD votes, a fact which weighed heavily for the alliance during the 2010 Assembly polls in which lJP had agreed to the projection of Prasad as chief ministerial face of the alliance. The alliance lost badly.