Lalu: No alliance with Congress in 5 assembly seats

With Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad declaring there will be ‘no alliance’ over by polls in five Legislative Assembly seats, fissures in RJD-Congress alliance have come to the fore.

“The electoral alliance was only for Lok Sabha seats, and not for Legislative Assembly seats. We will put our candidates on five assembly seats. There will be a friendly fight between us,” Mr. Prasad told reporters on Sunday.

Both parties have allied in the upcoming Lok Sabha Polls with RJD contesting on 27 out of 40 seats in Bihar, while Congress fighting on 12 seats. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has been given one seat in the alliance.

Kochadhaman, Baisi, Chiraiya, Maharajganj and Sahebpur Kamal are the five assembly seats that are going to polls concurrently with the general elections in the respective areas.

Mr. Prasad also clarified that there had been “no talks about joint campaigning or dais sharing by both parties during the public rallies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi”.

Congress has already declared its intention to contest all five assembly seats despite its alliance with RJD.

Mr. Prasad also took potshots at Janata Dal (United), calling its manifesto ‘a bundle of lies’ and said the party is nowhere in contest in the polls. He also criticised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over this.

“JD (U) manifesto is a bundle of lies. It is a tool to fool the public. JD (U) is going to be routed in the coming polls. The party has no significance now,” said Mr. Prasad.