Congress hints at new alliance in Bihar

Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla Thursday said the Congress will form a new alliance in Bihar ahead of the next general elections in 2014.

"Congress is working towards the formation of a new alliance in Bihar before the next Lok Sabha polls," Shukla told newspersons here.

Shukla was here on his way to campaign for the party candidate in the June 2 Lok Sabha byelection from Maharajganj constituency in the state's Saran district.

The statement from Shukla is bound to give sleepless nights to the Congress' long-time ally Rashtriya Janata Dal of Lalu Prasad. The announcement is likely to cause discomfiture even to the party's main rival at the national level, the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Even though Shukla did not name Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United as a probable ally, speculation is rife in political circles that an alliance between the two parties is in the offing.

Another likely ally being named by political observers here is the Lok Janshakti Party of Ram Vilas Paswan.