Bihar bypolls: Lalu says Sonia called, Cong junks claim

Prasad’s RJD and Congress, which fought the 2020 Bihar polls in alliance, are contesting separately in the bypolls for the two seats, which were earlier won by chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United).

Confusion prevailed over the RJD-Congress alliance in Bihar on Wednesday after Lalu Prasad hinted at a thaw and said Sonia Gandhi spoke to him on phone about his health and discussed the opposition’s unity, a claim promptly dismissed by Congress leaders.

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav addresses a by-election rally at Tarapur constituency in Munger district on Wednesday. (PTI)

Before leaving Patna to campaign for by-elections in Kusheshwar Asthan and Tarapur assembly constituencies, Prasad told reporters, “Sonia Gandhi spoke to me on phone and enquired about my well-being. We also discussed opposition’s unity.”

Hours later, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Bihar, Bhaktra Charan Das, who Prasad had called “bhakchonhar (simpleton)”, categorically ruled out any discussion between the Congress president and RJD chief on Wednesday. “This is baseless talk intended to create confusion among the masses at the peak of electioneering. There is no alliance between Congress and RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) in the by-elections and the party would contest all the 40 seats in the next Lok Sabha elections on its own,” said Das.

“I am the in-charge for Bihar and a representative of the Congress president. She (Sonia Gandhi) would surely give me the direction about the political line if there was any talk as referred to by Prasad,” said the AICC in-charge, adding that the RJD chief must have lied out of frustration to create confusion among the electors after realising heavy erosion in his party’s vote bank in both the seats.

Prasad’s RJD and Congress, which fought the 2020 Bihar polls in alliance, are contesting separately in the bypolls for the two seats, which were earlier won by chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United).

Das said Congress’s victory would give a new direction to politics in Bihar. “Our victory in two seats is not that crucial as to tilt the balance of power. But it would certainly revitalise Congress,” he said.

State Congress leaders, already belligerent after Prasad’s remarks against Das, too dismissed RJD chief’s claim of telephonic call with Sonia Gandhi as a ploy to confuse voters.

Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Ajit Sharma said, “Prima facie, it appears to be fake. RJD chief is a master dramatist.”

Kadwa MLA Shakeel Ahmad Khan said, “RJD has begun taking recourse to lies knowing well Congress was winning both the seats.”

Congreas has fielded Rajesh Mishra and Atirek Kumar from Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan, respectively. In 2020, the party had lost Kusheshwar Asthan by less than 6,000 votes.

When contacted, RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari said there should be no confusion over talks between top leaders of the two parties. “Lalu Prasad and Sonia Gandhi know each other and RJD has supported Congress and the party chief in critical times. Moreover, there has been no denial (of telephonic all) from Sonia ji,” he said.

Meanwhile, Congress legislator Prem Chandra Mishra alleged that leaders and ministers of the ruling alliance are distributing cash to influence voters and using official machinery for election purposes. “The Election Commission has been requested to act against them,” he said.