Lalu, Nitish agree to extend their alliance to assembly polls

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Press Trust of India Patna
Last Updated : Aug 25 2014 | 9:30 PM IST
Buoyed by assembly bypoll results in Bihar, RJD President Lalu Prasad and JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar today hinted at extending their alliance to assembly elections in the state next year and expanding it to other parties on an anti-communalism platform.
Having won six out of the 10 seats for which by-election were held in Bihar, state RJD President Ramchandra Purbey quoted party chief Lalu Prasad, admitted in a hospital in Mumbai, as saying that the "alliance will continue in the coming assembly polls".
"Our alliance experiment has been successful as voters have recognised the real character of BJP. They have realised that BJP is not a political party but one which spreads religious hysteria and communalism in its efforts to grab power", Purbey said.
"The alliance is nascent but has begun on a successful note. It will continue not only in the 2015 Bihar Assembly elections but will also expand on a national level. It is an alliance on the basis of the aspirations and wishes of the public," said Purbey.
Kumar the alliance "experiment we made through tie-up has proved successful. People have expressed their mind and mood in favour of it".
"Though the results are satisfactory, we still need to do a lot in future for a better outcome," he said.
Asked that his reunion with Lalu Prasad was described as "immoral" by the opposition, the JD(U) leader dismissed the charge and cited how in 1967 Communists and Jansangh had united and in 1977 Loknayak Jaiprakash Narayan had brought together many parties to form Janata Party while V P Singh government enjoyed support of Left as well BJP".
"Today BJP is in the centre of power so parties opposed to its policies will naturally unite against it," he said.
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First Published: Aug 25 2014 | 9:30 PM IST

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