PATNA: JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on Monday said his party would fight the forthcoming by-elections in Bihar in alliance with the RJD and Congress, to defeat the BJP.
“The JD(U) state executive has taken a decision to fight the bypoll for 10 Assembly seats next month together with the RJD and Congress,” Nitish said.
He added that the party has authorised state president Basistha Narayan Singh to initiate talks with parties opposed to the BJP.
The JD(U) initiative got a warm response from the RJD and Congress.
“The alliance is almost final. It’s a demand of the time,” said RJD legislative party leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui.
He even warned some dissenting party MLAs that they are free to toe their political line.
Asked who will lead the new alliance, Siddiqui said that these were minor issues and would be sorted out once the alliance was formed.
Even Congress party state president Ashok Chaudhary had given indication that his party may join the alliance.
The BJP termed the new alliance “unholy” and said they rejected the notion that all political forces are coming together.
After the crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, both Lalu Prasad and Nitish, once arch political rivals, had joined hands dreaming of the good old days of the “Mandal era” of the 90s.
Both have realised that they have to come together and do something to neutralise the impact of the BJP.
But then who among the two will gain more politically?
Or will both end up as losers in the Assembly elections?
The new political alliance by once rival political forces craving to win the same social constituency would be a new political experiment in Bihar.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders feel that this new alliance would help the BJP in a big way as the alliance lack “political credibility”.