New Delhi: Buoyed by the Bihar Assembly by-poll results, RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Saturday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi pleading for a secular alliance for the Assembly Elections in Jharkhand due soon.
Prasad met Gandhi for over 30 minutes and was accompanied by his close associate and former Union minister Premchand Gupta.
Later, Gupta said secular parties like the RJD and Congress should come together in the tribal dominated state where elections are due early next year.
RJD, LJP and Congress bagged 11 of the 18 seats in the just concluded Bihar Assembly by-elections, giving a jolt to the JD(U)-led NDA government in the state.
Gupta rubbished questions that Lalu met Gandhi in the wake of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee planning to institute a CBI inquiry into the alleged job scam in the ministry during his tenure. "The issue did not come up," he said.
In the last Lok Sabha elections in Jharkhand, Congress
had entered into an alliance with the JMM, dumping the RJD.
Lalu`s meeting with Gandhi came close on the heels of the
recent visit of an AICC committee to Jharkhand to assess the
ground situation and find out with whom the party should
align.
The members of the committee could not find any unanimity
on whether the party should align with JMM, RJD or Jharkhand
Vikas Morcha, headed by former chief minister Babulal Marandi.
While BJP is expected to contest alone, Congress leaders
have so far not ruled out the possibility of going it solo.
The state came under Central rule early this year after
chief minister Shibu Soren lost an assembly by-poll and no
other alliance staked claim to form the government.
Cong favours maintaining distance
Amid RJD`s efforts to seek an
alliance with Congress in Jharkhand polls, a senior Congress
leader from Bihar on Saturday favoured maintaining a distance from
Lalu Prasad`s party.
"Congress has benefitted after parting ways with Lalu
Prasad in Bihar. There is a consensus that there should be no
alliance with Lalu Prasad in Bihar," Congress leader Shakeel
Ahmad told reporters.
Prasad had met Congress President Sonia Gandhi earlier in
the day with a plea for a secular alliance in the Assembly
polls in Jharkhand.
Asked about Prasad`s meeting with Gandhi, Ahmad said "I
do not know what transpired between the two leaders. The high
command would take any view on it after consulting leaders in
Jharkhand. But about Bihar, there is a clear consensus that we
have benefitted since we parted ways from Lalu Prasad."
The state came under Central rule early this year after
chief minister Shibu Soren lost an assembly by-poll and no
other alliance staked claim to form the government.
Bureau Report
