Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar to campaign together

RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Bihar former chief minister Nitish Kumar will campaign together for the by-election in 10 assembly constituencies in the state, a JD-U leader said Friday.

Janata Dal (United) (JD-U) president Vashisht Narain Singh and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Ram Chandra Purve Friday told reporters that Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar will jointly campaign for the by-polls.

"Both Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar will share dais and address public meetings seeking support and vote for the candidates representing the JD-U, RJD and Congress alliance," said Vashisht Narain Singh.

According to political watchers here, it was in 1991 Lok Sabha polls that Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar were last seen together in campaigns. Nitish Kumar who had contested from Barh constituency, had lost.

Bihar's ruling JD-U's new allies RJD and Congress are together contesting the by-election to defeat the BJP.

Vashisht Narain Singh and Ram Chandra Purve also ended the controversy over Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's statement that Nitish Kumar will again be the chief minister if the JD-U alliance gets a majority in next year's assembly polls.

"The alliance will select its chief minister only after 2015 assembly polls," they said.

Manjhi made the statement in Dhanbad that he would like to see Nitish Kumar as the chief minister and the prime minister as he is the most popular leader, both the RJD and the Congress expressed their strong reservations over it.

The JD-U, RJD and Congress alliance was announced July 30 to contest the by-elections in 10 assembly constituencies.

The JD-U and RJD leaders said the alliance was vital for strengthening secular forces and defeating communal parties in the state.

The JD-U and RJD, which parted ways in 1994, came together after the BJP swept the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar.