Hinting at ruling out an alliance with the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad on Friday said the “time for alliance is over”. He also said he tried his best to bring all secular forces together to protect the country from ‘communal forces’.
Despite all the efforts, the delay in alliance with the Congress has made Lalu frustrated.
Apparently alarmed by the BJP-LJP tie-up, pressure is building upon the Congress in Bihar for firming up its alliance for the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress workers were also worried over the delay in the final announcement of the RJD-Congress alliance in the state. Though, some party leaders pointed out the exit of the LJP as good riddance because of the bad image of some of its leaders, they admit the delay is hampering the probable candidates from starting their work in the respective constituencies. Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed is of the view that the ambiguity on alliance issue should end as early as possible in Bihar.
After the formal announcement of the BJP-LJP alliance in Bihar, the Congress and the RJD launched a scathing attack on Ram Vilas Paswan. Congress state president Ashok Chaudhary said it reflected the opportunistic mind of Paswan. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said Paswan could take only this kind of unusual move.