Tough posturing by both Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad is fast threatening to derail the prospect of seat-sharing between the different Janata Parivar factions in poll-bound Bihar.
While the Congress’s open show of support on Sunday to Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish’s leadership painted Lalu into a corner, the latter fought back with renewed strength on Monday.
His close associate and former Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh told reporters in Patna that Nitish cannot be projected as the chief ministerial candidate of the Janata alliance.
“I don’t think Nitish’s candidature will make any difference to the alliance prospects. The Chief Minister should be decided after the elections… I will say it a thousand times — Nitish should not be named the CM candidate,” Singh said.
Meanwhile, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, who has been trying to iron out differences between party colleague Nitish and Lalu, met the latter on Sunday.
“We are working on the merger. These things take time,” Sharad Yadav had told BusinessLine here before he left for Patna.
Meanwhile, Lalu struck a more conciliatory note after Raghuvansh Prasad Singh’s clear rejection of Nitish’s candidature.
“All issues including that of leadership and chief ministerial candidate will be sorted out once there is finality about the alliance,” said the former Bihar Chief Minister.
“I telephoned Nitish Kumar one week ago and said days were passing and that we should now sit together quickly and decide about the alliance, elections, seats and other such issues… Various kinds of talks doing the round in the market about us are making the environment unpleasant,” said.
Nitish, he added, could not come over as he was recuperating from an eye surgery but Sharad Yadav met him at his residence to discuss the issues.
Need to hurry“I am now saying we should hurry up over the mega-alliance. The JD(U) should talk to the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also about their demands and wishes. If you want a merger between Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and JD(U) then I am ready. Let us let us sit together today itself and finalise it,” he said.
Lalu said he was “positive and not negative” on the alliance but stressed that trust is important between the RJD and JD(U) to take the talks ahead. “Otherwise the enemy will benefit and we will be in trouble,” he added.
The RJD supremo further said there is need to ensure that there is no doubt or confusion among the people about the alliance.
“We are rising against the BJP. The entire country is hopeful about it. The talk of Janata Parivar merger originated from here and the talk of mega-alliance is also emanating from here,” he said.
Lalu also cautioned leaders of both the RJD and JD(U) to avoid giving statements about the alliance in public, as it tended to create confusion and doubt.
Several rounds of talks chaired by Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav have failed to sort out the differences between Lalu and Nitish ahead of Assembly elections in Bihar.
However, Mulayam has been nominated to head the six offshoots of the Janata Parivar after the merger,