Rahul Gandhi reviews poll preparedness in WB, Bihar

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi today reviewed Congress' organisational strength and poll preparedness in West Bengal and Bihar in view of the next Lok Sabha elections.

This is the first meeting of Gandhi with the leadership of Bihar after JD(U) dumped the BJP on June 16 and is now at daggers drawn with its erstwhile ally fuelling speculation of a possible tie-up with the Congress.

It is also the first such meeting after former Union Minister C P Joshi was given the charge of the two politically sensitive states.

While Congress has lost an ally Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, there is intense speculation about its next alliance partner in Bihar where the party is weighing the options between RJD and JD(U).

While Lalu Prasad's RJD is an old UPA ally having participated in the UPA I government and extending support from outside to UPA, the party sees a future ally in the "like-minded and secular" JD(U).

Gandhi had earlier met Bihar leaders on April 17 in which he had discussed the organisational issues as well as the emerging political situation in Bihar.

Apart from Joshi, PCC chief Ashok Choudhary and CLP leader Sadanand Singh were present at the deliberations chaired by the Congress Vice-President today.

The meeting on West Bengal attended by state PCC chief Pradip Bhattacharya and CLP leader Mohammed Sohrab took place on a day when the five-phased Pachayat polls concluded in the state.

Congress, which had fought the elections on its own, is keenly watching the outcome of the elections. Sources in the party have been maintaining that under the changed political situations in both Bihar and Bengal, Congress will emerge a force that can tilt the political balance either way in these states.