Grand Alliance going all out to checkmate BJP

Sonia, Rahul to hold ten odd rallies, Lalu and Nitish to visit all each of the 243 constituencies' at least once during campaign

The 'Grand Alliance' of JD(U), RJD and Congress in Bihar is making an all-out attempt to checkmate the BJP using its multiple star campaigners -- Nitish Kumar, Lalu Yadav, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. While the Congress leaders will be holding ten odd rallies between them, the bulk of the campaigning will be done by the RJD chief and the Bihar chief minister. Lalu and Nitish are slated to visit each of the 243 constituencies' at least once during the campaign. The alliance is also slated to unveil a common programme (manifesto) of the alliance in the next few days.

The alliance may have a joint campaign committee but the Congress contesting only on 40 seats realizes that it is a junior partner in the alliance. Campaign managers said that effort was to ensure that all assembly seats were covered since they have the benefit of having several leaders unlike the BJP which is banking solely on PM Narendra Modi (likely to address about 20 rallies). During the 2014 polls, when Lalu Yadav and Nitish contested separately it was challenging for them to cover all constituencies singlehandedly.

Sources said that a joint rally of all three party leaders could take place in the fourth and fifth phase of the polls possibly in Seemanchal. For now, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has already visited Bihar last week and is scheduled to address two rallies again on October 17. Rahul Gandhi separately will visit the state on October 7 and then on 26.

Even as the BJP led alliance has released its manifesto, the Grand alliance has decided to unveil a "common programme" which would charter out its commitments should it come to power. Figuring among the top priorities of the alliance, disclosed a leader are issues like tacking employment, student scholarships, women empowerment.

Although the BJP is claiming that there are faultlines within the "united" alliance due to which Lalu Yadav and Sonia Gandhi are unlikely to be seen sharing a stage, alliance election managers say otherwise. "Our priority is not a display of being united but rather to keep out the BJP. For the first time in the state, a sitting chief minister released the list of candidates of all three alliance partners contesting elections. That is unity, we do not need a certificate from the BJP to prove that are alliance is intact," said a senior alliance leader.