Laloo tries to lift his fortunes with a motley crew of parties

RJD national working president Ranjan Yadav admitted that these leaders were working on a plan to come up with a “secular front” at the national level. He said he hoped the alliance would soon take a “definite shape.”Sources in the RJD said that there was a strong consensus that the Congress be made a part of this alliance. Whether there would be a pre-electoral tie-up or some kind of coalition arrangement is not clear yet, sources said.

Given Sitaram Kesri’s support to the RJD in Bihar and his personal equation with Laloo, the constituents are said to have asked the RJD chief to work out the details of the arrangement. But many here are sceptical of this move. One strong pocket of resistance is the state unit of the Congress. Some PCC leaders have already approached Kesri asking him to wait until the elections before joining hands with the RJD.