Mahagathbandhan goes soft on Nitish, says "not allergic" to

With the BJP-JD(U) ties under apparent strain, Senior RJD leader leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has extended an olive branch to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying non-BJP parties including the JD(U) should join forces against the BJP and that his party is "not allergic" to anyone.

Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, whose LJP is a constituent of the 3-party NDA bloc in the state apart from the JD(U) and the BJP, however, asserted the alliance is "intact".

Down in the dumps following the Mahagathbandhan's Lok Sabha poll whacking, Singh's comments are being seen as indicative of a shift in his party's tough stance on Kumar, after he spurned the offer of "symbolic" presence of his party in the Modi cabinet, insisting on "proportional representation".

"All non-BJP parties, whether Nitish or a, b or c should come together on a single platform to provide a national alternative. We are not allergic to any particular party or leader," Singh said on Monday when asked about Kumar's acceptability in the Mahagathbandhan.

"It would be even better if all small parties merge together and become a single entity to take on the humongous challenge posed by the BJP," he added.

Responding to a question about whether his views had the approval of jailed RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, Singh, a former union minister, said he had made public his personal views. He, however, went on to add that since he and Prasad had worked together for a long time, they thought alike "on most occasions".

Former chief ministers Rabri Devi and Jitan Ram Manjhi of RJD and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), also appeared to have mellowed towards Nitish Kumar.

Manjhi, a former protege of Kumar, greeted the chief minister with a warm hug at the Iftar the HAM leader had hosted on Monday.

"I had my differences with the JD(U) chief over the manner in which I was removed from the post of chief minister. But it has been four years and much water has flown down the Ganges," Manjhi told reporters.

Formerly with the JD(U), Manjhi became the chief minister in 2014 when he was propped up by Kumar who stepped down taking moral responsibility for the partys drubbing in the general elections.

Less than a year later, when Manjhi was asked to step down and make way for the return of his mentor, he revolted, quit the JD(U) and formed his own outfit.

Manjhi had also attended an Iftar party hosted by the JD(U) the previous day and his pictures in the media exchanging pleasantries with Kumar raised many eyebrows since the BJP and JD(U) leaders had stayed away from Iftars hosted by each other.

Minutes before Kumars arrival, Rabri Devi and her elder son Tej Pratap Yadav left Manjhis residence, and when she was queried about possible realignment with the JD(U) chief an old associate of her husband Lalu Prasad she first tried to dodge it with the remark "better ask Manjhi.

When pressed further, she said, "Any decision on inclusion of new allies can be taken only in consultation with all allies."
Meanwhile, Paswan, at whose Iftar party Kumar shared space with BJP leaders like Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, maintained the "NDA is intact". A day before, he had asserted," All is well in the NDA in Bihar and Nitish Kumar is our leader."
Paswan evaded queries about leaders of the JD(U) and BJP skipping each other's Iftar parties and said, "I attended both. And leaders of both parties are here as all of us have seen."