Mahagathbandhan will be reality only if Opp parties decide on seat sharing: Yashwant Sinha

A final decision on the proposed 'mahagathbandhan' at the national level can be taken only after the Opposition parties decide on a seat sharing formula, former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said Wednesday.

"The real shape of the mahagathbandhan against the BJP-led NDA is yet to take place and one cannot say how it will be decided," the former external affairs minister told PTI.

"So far, only state-level alliances are taking place. No decision has yet been taken to form an alliance of the Opposition parties at the national level," Sinha said and cited the example of the Samajwadi Party (SP)-Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) tie-up in Uttar Pradesh.

Asked if he would campaign for the Opposition grand alliance, Sinha, who was a member of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet, said he cannot guarantee anything until the 'mahagathbandhan' at the national level takes final shape.

When pointed out that he had participated in some of the Opposition rallies, including the one in Kolkata in January, Sinha said he would decide on addressing election meetings of Opposition parties only if he is requested to.

On whether he would address any rally in Hazaribagh where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to field his son, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, he said: "The time has not (yet) come to answer this question".

Sinha, however, hailed the developmental projects implemented in Hazaribagh in the last four years especially the work done to improve roads and railways.

Very soon the district would have air connectivity as well, he asserted.

Sinha also praised the Raghubar Das government in the state for constructing a medical college in a record period of two years saying, "It is an achievement".