Alliance issue in Bihar: LJP throws ball in Congress court

NEW DELHI: Seeking to position his party in neutral gear on the alliance issue in Bihar ahead of Lok Sabha polls, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan today said it was for the Congress to decide whether the secular alliance in the state will include Lalu Prasad's RJD or Nitish Kumar's JD(U).

Sources in LJP have said the party has opened its channel of communications with JD(U), which is also keen on a tie-up with Paswan's party.

Nitish Kumar walked out of NDA in June last year bringing to an end his party's 17 year-old ties with the BJP in protest against Narendra Modi's elevation.

"Our alliance with Congress is decided as far as we are concerned. Both parties will remain together.As far aligning with JD(U) or RJD is concerned, the LJP has left this decision to Congress.This much is clear for us that we will go with Congress.

"If Congress goes with JD(U), then it will be a Congress-JDU-LJP alliance, if Congress goes with RJD, it will be a Congress-RJD-LJP alliance for Bihar. Whichever of the two party joins the Congress-LJP grouping, it will have strength to stop the march of the BJP in Bihar," he told PTI in an interview.

This is the first time that Paswan has spoken categorically on the issue of alliance in Bihar amid indications that LJP and JD(U) were warming up to each other.

Two Rajya Sabha MPs from JD(U) Ali Anwar Ansari and Sabir Ali were seen at Paswan's house during a lunch programme this week.Paswan also attended an event with JD(U) MP K C Tyagi on Saturday giving a call for socialist forces to come together.

Both Prasad and Paswan have met Congress President Sonia Gandhi over the alliance issue but there was no categorical answer from Gandhi about what would be the alliance arrangement in Bihar this time.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Congress had walked out of RJD-LJP alliance in a huff after it was offered only three seats to contest by Prasad.

Congress, which had initially been demanding 10 to 15 seats had finally scaled down its demand to five seats but it was rejected by the RJD chief, who recently rued his then decision, saying it was a "mistake" on his part.