 "Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad")
The three partners of Bihar's grand alliance - Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress - are going the extra mile to project an united front.
Recently, the spokespersons of the alliance, for the first time, addressed a joint press conference at the Congress headquarters in the national capital. The parties are also gearing up to release a common manifesto for the Assembly elections.
According to an insider, senior leaders from all the parties, Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will be campaigning for all candidates, irrespective of the party.
However, reports that Lalu won't take part in a meeting to be addressed by Rahul Gandhi at Champaran on Saturday have fuelled speculation about unity in the front.
Dismissing the rumours, RJD leaders said Lalu was busy with ticket distribution and has deputed his son Tejasvi Yadav instead for the meeting. Congress and RJD sources confirm that subsequent rallies will see senior leaders of both the parties criss-crossing the state campaigning for all candidates in the alliance. According to a Congress strategist, there will be more rallies like the one at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
In 2014, Lalu and Nitish were fighting the elections separately. Both the leaders had to campaign for their candidates for the 40 Lok Sabha seats single-handedly. Had they fought separately now, the challenge would have been greater, as they would have to cover 243 seats. The alliance would have a common manifesto, much like the common minimum programme of the United Progressive Alliance along with a separate manifesto for each party.
Since it is a five-phased election, holding several mega rallies might not be practical, said a Congress leader. According to him, this time the focus will be on block and district-level rallies.
An RJD insider dismissed the claim that Asaduddin Owaisi's party posed a threat to its Muslim vote base in the Seemanchal region. Nonetheless, the greatest test of unity for the alliance would be how the parties finalise their seat distribution, which is likely to be completed within a week.
