Congress leader Rashid Alvi on Sunday welcomed former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's move to reach out to Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in order to counter the BJP politically.
"This is a right step, secular forces must indeed join hands to fight communal forces, as this poses a security threat for the nation," Alvi said.
Kumar has, of late, come under pressure in the face of strong resistance mounted by over a dozen dissidents, who have fielded their own nominees, including Shabir Ali and Anil Sharma, against the official party nominees Ghulam Rasool Baliyawi and Pawan Verma in a bye- election due to be held on June 19.
The dissidents have the support of the BJP.