RJD president lalu Prasad on Sunday said the dialogue process on seat-sharing with the Congress in Bihar was “still underway” despite the expiry of a deadline of Saturday set by him. At the same time, Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmad has agreed to give up his claim on the contentious Madhubani lok Sabha seat “to save the secular alliance”.
While Prasad is still looking towards the Congress, sources said that the latter is putting pressure on lalu by warming up to the Janata Dal (United).
The dominant view in the Congress is that the RJD will be a better choice for a poll alliance in Bihar. This section also points out that it is too late to make an overture to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is now a part and parcel of the so-called Third Front. These views apart, “precondition” of fulfilling Nitish Kumar’s demand for special status for Bihar is next to impossible at this stage.
However, the Congress feels that lalu Prasad must offer them seats of its choice to make the alliance work. Among the seats that the RJD has offered to the Congress include Hajipur, once the Parliamentary seat of lJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan, which is now held by JD(U)’s Ram Sundar Das.
lalu has also offered Nalanda, which is Nitish Kumar’s stronghold. The Congress was earlier keen on seats like Madhubani, Nawada, Jehanabad, Bhagalpur, Sasaram, Aurangabad and East Champaran among others.
While the offer includes Sasaram and Aurangabad, the RJD is not ready to spare Madhubani. Ahmed’s “sacrifice” could remove one roadblock in the way of continuation of the Congress-RJD dialogue on seat-sharing in the State. Senior RJD leader and former minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui, who stood like rock with lalu during the entire “poaching drama”, is determined to contest from Madhubani.
The other seats where the hitch remained between the two parties are Bhagalpur, Motihari and Jehanabad.Earlier, soon after his party’s crucial Parliamentary board meeting, lalu declared that he was still hopeful of having an alliance with the Congress but “now they have to decide on this.”
lalu also said that he would kick start his poll campaign from March 5. “After coming out of Ranchi jail for two months, I was in Delhi talking with Congress leaders for an alliance to stop the communal forces in the elections. The Congress is a big national party, but I’m sill hopeful that an alliance will strike between us”, said lalu at his wife Rabri Devi’s official residence 10, Circular Road.
He further said that he has now left everything to the Congress to decide as he has already submitted the name of constituencies and seats the RJD would spare for them in Bihar. “likh kar de diya hai…11 seat Congress ko aur ek NCP ko…Katihar wala…now they have to take the decision”, he said.
In another significant development, outgoing JD(U) Rajya Sabha member Shivanand Tiwari has said that if the RJD chief would invite him to his party he could go there. Tiwari was recently expelled by the JD(U) along with four others MPs.