Cong-RJD deal not likely till Bihar polls
Even as the state unit showing eagerness to form a popular government in Jharkhand, the Congress central leadership has decided not to oblige them at least till Bihar elections, which are scheduled for October-November this year.
A senior party leader, who is closely associated with the Jharkhand affairs, said, if the party decides to form a government there now, it can easily be done, but not without RJD support.
“At least till the Bihar Assembly elections we do not want to have any truck with RJD, as we are eyeing such votes, which are essentially anti-Lalu. We hope that we can win them to our sides, as they are disenchanted with BJP,” he said. When asked to comment on the possibility of a Congress-led coalition government in Jharkhand, AICC in-charge of the state Keshav Rao said, “At least for now we are not looking at forming government in the state.” But when pressed further and asked whether the party is looking at forming a popular government in the state after Bihar elections, Mr Rao said, “It looks so.”
Since the Congress has decided to go alone in Bihar and essentially eyeing anti-Lalu votes, any truck with RJD would prove counterproductive, a senior BPCC functionary said.
Underlining the fact that the Congress reaped benefit in the state, when it completely severed its ties with Yadav chieftain, the leader said, “In last Lok Sabha polls, though we fought alone in the state, RJD ministers continued to be there in Dr Manmohan Singh’s government. This gave ample elbowroom to Opposition NDA to browbeat us during electioneering. They claimed that we (Congress and RJD) were having a mock war.”
The leader added that soon after the Lok Sabha polls, by-elections for 17 Assembly segments took place and the party did well to win two seats. “This time RJD was not part of the Union government and we fought the elections on our own. The congress was at par with the ruling BJP in the state in winning the number of seats,” he said.
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