Patna, Jun 18 : Rift has surfaced in the RJD-LJP combine after seven months of the alliance suffering serious drubbing at the hands of ruling NDA in Assembly polls in Bihar, with the two parties failing to reach an agreement on supporting the candidate for the Purnia Assembly bypoll.
Both the RJD and LJP decided against contesting the bypoll and have rather decided to support a secular candidate keeping in mind the winnability factor.
The souring of relations between the two opposition parties in Bihar came when RJD leaders Ramchandra Purve and Abdul Bari Siddiqui unilaterally announced to support the CPI-M nominee Amit Sarkar, son of slain CPI-M MLA Ajit Sarkar, in the June 25 bypoll to Purnia Assembly constituency.
Leader of the Opposition Abdul Bari Siddiqui said that RJD's decision to support the CPI-M candidate was solely a party decision and efforts to contact the LJP leadership on the issue had proved futile.
“We have had no talks with LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan on the issue,” he said.
Siddiqui said the party's decision to support the CPI-M was taken to check a division of secular votes in the bypolls in a bid to defeat the NDA nominee.
However, the RJD's bid to check the division of secular votes might not fructify as its alliance partner LJP is apparently keen on supporting the Congress candidate, Ram Charitra Yadav who bagged 40000 votes in the last polls and if that happens it would be a signal of the LJP closing in with the Congress in the coming days. PTI
