The Janata Dal(U) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal announced on Sunday that they would jointly contest the Bihar Assembly elections, but the possibility and nature of a coalition of all parties ranged against the Bharatiya Janata Party remained uncertain as RJD chief Lalu Prasad held out on accepting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as its leader.
The two parties reached the understanding after a two-hour meeting between Mr. Kumar and Mr. Prasad at the residence of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh.
“It has been decided today [Sunday] that the RJD and the JD(U) will contest the Bihar polls in alliance,” SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said. “There is no dispute. These things will be taken care of later,” Mr. Yadav said when asked who would be the leader. A six-member committee has been formed for seat-sharing.
Mr. Kumar had an hour-long meeting with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who has thrown his weight behind the Chief Minister. JD(U) sources said the meeting was “fruitful”. Sources said the emphasis at both meetings was that the anti-BJP parties needed to bury their differences if they wanted to prevent it from wresting power. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told leaders in Patna that the party aimed for a broader coalition and expected the JD(U) and the RJD to sort out their problems.
