Nitish Kumar hints at Congress-RJD post poll alliance

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar today took a potshot at the Congress for going alone in the assembly polls and asked if there was any guarantee that it would not join hands with the RJD after the election.

"The Congress had contested the assembly polls in 2000 alone, but later all its legislators were made ministers in the RJD-led government. What is the guarantee that such an alliance between the two parties will not take place after the 2010 assembly polls?" he asked.

Indicating an understanding between the RJD and the Congress at the national level, Kumar said otherwise why Lalu Prasad, the leader of a just a four-member party, could occupy a front seat in the Lok Sabha.

Going by its consistent performance over the years with only around a dozen seats coming to its kitty in successive assembly polls, the Congress should not not be taken as a serious challenger, the chief minister said.

On the preparation of his own party the JD(U), he said the selection process for the candidates and preparation of the party's manifesto was underway while the senior leaders were fine tuning campaign strategies.