JD(U) says alliance with BJP in Bihar to continue

Amid a spat between Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi, JD-U president Sharad Yadav today cleared the air, saying the party's alliance with the BJP in Bihar would continue.

"The ties between the two parties are old and they will continue. There is no question of any break-up", he said when asked about the fate of the alliance after Kumar returned the Gujarat government's aid to Bihar during the Kosi floods of 2008.

The "unpleasantness" over the publication of Kumar’s photograph with that of Modi in an advertisement published in Bihar dailies was over on the day it had appeared, Yadav said.

Kumar had criticised the Gujarat government for advertising that it had liberally donated aid to Bihar during the 2008 Kosi floods, calling it "uncivilised".

The Bihar chief minister had also taken strong exception to the use of a photograph with Modi in another advertisement published in local dailies and had even threatened to take legal action against those responsible.

Assembly elections in Bihar are due by October-November this year and the BJP has recently held its national executive in Patna which saw launch of the party's campaign seeking a second term for the NDA in the state. 

The two parties had contested the Rajya Sabha polls together.