Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar, Mulayam Singh Yadav to hold merger talks today

New Delhi/Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad will hold talks with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav here on Friday amid continuing differences over formalising a merger before the state Assembly polls.

A day ahead of the meeting, the RJD chief caused disquiet in JD(U) with remarks that former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, a detractor of Kumar, should also be made part of the "broader unity" against BJP.

JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi said Kumar and Lalu have arrived here for the meeting during which the talks will focus on Bihar polls, due later this year, and merger issues.

Though Kumar is keen on a merger between the two Bihar-centric parties materialising before the polls, neither Samajwadi Party nor RJD seem as interested.

After initial burst of enthusiasm which led to the announcement of merger of six Janata Parivar offshoots last month, there are clear signals that SP and RJD want to have a relook, which had prompted Kumar to ask Mulayam to "clear the air".

Mulayam was declared as the head of the new party on April 15.

However, even before the talks could resume, in a curious turn of events, Lalu on Thursday floated the idea of roping in Manjhi, who has floated his Hindustan Awam Morcha after being ousted as chief minister, in the "broader unity" exercise to take on the BJP.

"We are for broader unity of parties against BJP in which everybody, including Manjhi, shall come forward," Lalu told reporters in Patna, queering the pitch just before the crucial talks.

Kumar, who had handpicked Manjhi as his successor after he decided to step down following JD(U)'s humiliating defeat in last year's Lok Sabha elections, chose not to speak to the media over Lalu's suggestion.

However, Lalu's invitation to Manjhi to be a part of the efforts for a "broader unity" against BJP did not go down well with JD(U), which is keen on formalising the merger ahead of the state Assembly poll due later this year.

State JD(U) president Basistha Narayan Singh said there was "no point" in bringing Manjhi into the picture due to his reported proximity to BJP.

"Manjhi is not in the to do list of Janata Party unity process. Nitish Kumar had chosen him for the chair of chief minister, but he turned out to be a puppet in the hands of BJP," state JD(U) spokesman Neeraj Kumar said, reacting to Lalu's invitation to Manjhi.

Brishen Patel, a former minister and close aide of Manjhi, however, thanked Lalu for the invitation but made it clear that his party will not be a part of any political combination which has Nitish Kumar.

"But, one thing is crystal clear that Manjhi and his newly floated Hindustani Awam Party (HAM) would not be part of any combination of which Nitish Kumar is a part," said Patel who had been a minister in the governments led by Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi, Nitish Kumar and Manjhi.

The first strong signal of the merger not fructifying had come a few days ago when SP National General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav declared that it was not possible before the Bihar Assembly polls due to "technicalities" involved and any move taken in a hurry would amount to signing the "death warrant" of his own party.

Ever since, confusion has reigned supreme amid speculations about whether the two Bihar satraps will go to the hustings under one umbrella or as alliance partners.

With PTI inputs