Rahul Gandhi claims he knew of Nitish’s plans

A day after the JD (U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar sank the Bihar Grand Alliance and embraced the BJP, many believe that Congress could have saved the alliance and Opposition unity. But what baffled political observers was Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s admission that he had a whiff of Bihar CM’s plans four months ago.

“He (Nitish) joined hands with us in the anti-communal fight, but for his personal politics he has now joined hands with those against whom he had fought,” Rahul told reporters outside the Parliament. “I knew Nitishji was planning on something. We knew this was going on for the last three-four months,” he said.

Insiders believe that the BJP opened channels with Nitish last March, with only few senior leaders in both parties privy to the developments.