Bihar polls: Congress rubbishes rumours of Sonia, Rahul avoiding Lalu

The Congress on Monday brushed aside rumours that party chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi have qualms in sharing the dais with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav for the Bihar elections campaign.

Sonia and Rahul have not been seen on the dais with Lalu campaigning for the grand alliance, which have raised doubts that the duo are trying to maintain distance from the RJD boss to avoid any controversy in the name of supporting corruption or corrupt people.

"This is not true. The RJD have their own public meetings and so do we. If you recall, both Sonia and Rahul had initially shared the dais with the other parties in the 'mahagathbandhan'. Just because they are not spotted together all the time does not mean there is a matter of concern," Congress leader Rashid Alvi told ANI here.

Janata Dal (United) leader K. C. Tyagi also backed Alvi's assertion, saying all the three parties in the 'mahagathbandhan' are in harmony.

"The RJD and JD (U) have no issues in sharing the stage with Sonia and Rahul. This is clearly some ploy by the opposition," Tyagi told ANI here.

The JD (U), RJD and Congress are contesting the Bihar polls under the grand alliance to ensure that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not form the next government in the state.

The five phase elections will take place in Bihar from October 12 to November 5.