Bihar polls: Ruling alliance plans joint campaign

The anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance plans to use its multiple star campaigners extensively to check its major opponent.

Nitish Kumar, Lalu Pradad, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will all be campaigning extensively for the alliance of the Janata Dal, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress. While the Congress leaders will be holding 10-odd rallies between themselves, the bulk of the campaigning will be done by the RJD chief and the Bihar chief minister. Lalu and Nitish are slated to visit each of the 243 constituencies' at least once.

The alliance is also slated to unveil a common programme (manifesto) in the next few days.

Alliance campaign managers said the effort was to ensure that all assembly seats were covered, since they have the benefit of having several leaders, while the BJP was banking heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi (likely to address about 20 rallies). During the 2014 polls, when Prasad and Kumar contested separately it was challenging for them to cover all the constituencies.

Sources said a joint rally of all three party leaders could take place in the fourth and fifth phase of the polls, possibly in Seemanchal.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi visited Bihar last week and is scheduled to address two rallies on October 17. Rahul Gandhi will visit the state on October 7 and October 26.

The BJP-led alliance has issued a manifesto of what it would do if elected to govern. Its opposing alliance is to issue a "common programme" of commitments. Top priorities, disclosed a leader, are employment, student scholarships and women empowerment.