As tensions simmered within the Mahagathbandhan over the failure to arrive at a formal seat-sharing pact for the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot met RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday in a bid to ease friction within the alliance.
Speaking to the media after the crucial meeting, Gehlot stressed that it is "extremely important" for Congress to win the polls in Bihar after having been drubbed in a crucial state like Maharashtra.
"It is extremely important for us to win the polls. More so after the alliance of which Congress was a part lost Maharashtra. The Bihar polls will set the tone for national politics. It is essential that the NDA, which has caused divisions in society and messed up the economy, gets a setback. The people of Bihar are wise enough to realise this," Gehlot said.
The tensions within the alliance further escalated on Monday when its key constituent, RJD, released its list of 143 candidates, setting the stage for direct fights with Congress in at least five seats. The contest in these seats, termed by both Congress and RJD as "friendly fights" are expected to weaken chances of the grand alliance over the ruling NDA.
Congress candidates are also up against the CPI, another alliance partner, in three other seats.
Even as Gehlot earlier claimed that "a friendly fight in five or ten seats was no big deal," after meeting the RJD supremo, he said, "we hope things will be ironed out by the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers tomorrow."
However, five of these seats fall in the first phase, for which the deadline for withdrawal ended on Monday.
When asked about the Congress's apparent reluctance to openly declare RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as the alliance's chief ministerial candidate, Gehlot said, "Why do you want me to make such an announcement... You have seen the chemistry between Rahul and Tejashwi during the Voter Adhikar Yatra two months ago when the two leaders travelled across the state. They will take an appropriate decision at an appropriate time."
Gehlot also slammed the media for its alleged biased reporting, claiming that the turmoil within the NDA alliance has been deliberately ignored.
"..the turmoil in the NDA is, in fact, greater than it is in our camp. But the media does not highlight that because of bias in favour of the ruling coalition," he said.
The former Rajasthan chief minister, accompanied by Krishna Allavaru, the AICC Bihar in-charge, said that a joint press conference of the Mahagathbandhan alliance partners will take place on Thursday.
The 243-member Bihar Assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results set to be announced on November 14.
