RJD to back JD-U in Rajya Sabha bye-polls: Lalu Prasad Yadav

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Wednesday declared his party's support to the Janata Dal United (JD-U) candidates who are in the fray for the Rajya Sabha bye-elections.

"We will not allow the BJP's gameplan to destabilise this government. RJD will support JD-U candidates for Rajya Sabha polls. We must forget the past and move ahead. Gautam Buddha had said one should think about the present and not the future, our decision is based on the current situation," the RJD chief told media.

"We are fully confident, that there is no confusion about the BJP's astuteness on backing those two leaders to join the fray in the election. By letting the two independents stand in the elections, filing their nominations from the residence of Sushil Kumar. I do not make any mistake in understanding. Whether it is Sabir Ali or the builder, I do not know whether there is any horse trading or not," he added.

The JD(U) needs support from the RJD MLAs to avoid embarrassment in the bypolls which is scheduled to be held on June 19th. The JD-U is in a sticky situation as some of its own MLAs have shown defiance against the leadership and could cross vote in the Rajya Sabha bye-polls.

The JD-U has fielded Sharad Yadav, Pawan Verma and Ghulam Rasool for the three Rajya Sabha seats.

Meanwhile, rebel JD-U leader Sabir Ali along with Anil Kumar Sharma and Dilip Jaiswal are in the fray as independent candidates.