Congress Leader Ashok Gehlot Asserts Unity In INDIA Bloc Ahead Of Bihar Polls

Patna: With Bihar assembly polls less than two weeks, senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday asserted that all was well within INDIA bloc or Mahagathbandhan, and contended that there was no problem with friendly contests among allies of the alliance on 5-10 seats

Amid reports of widening rift between allies of the opposition bloc, Gehlot met RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav to discuss the issue of ‘friendly fights’ over eight assembly seats where Congress, RJD and other allies have fielded candidates against each other. “Friendly contests on a few seats should not be viewed as discord within the coalition,” he remarked.

Speaking to the media, Gehlot said that he held discussions with Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav and everything has been resolved. “A press conference will be held tomorrow (Thursday) to update the media about the existing situation. All INDIA bloc partners will contest elections together,” he said.

Former Rajasthan chief minister said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav would soon start an election campaign together. “There are 243 seats in Bihar assembly. Friendly contests take place in other states as well. Mahagathbandhan is united and firm to take on the BJP-JD(U) combine,” he added.

Gehlot’s meeting with Lalu and Tejashwi comes a day after Congress general secretary K C Venugopal spoke with Tejashwi to resolve the ‘friendly fight’ issue as it has sent a wrong message to masses ahead of elections. Gehlot rushed to Patna along with Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru to meet RJD leaders to resolve the issue.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) had earlier named Ashok Gehlot as senior election observer for the Bihar assembly elections. In response to a media query, Gehlot said that winning assembly elections in Bihar was very important, more so after the alliance of which Congress was a part lost Maharashtra.

The seats where RJD, Congress and its allies have fielded their candidates against each other include Narkatiaganj where Deepak Yadav (RJD) will face Shashwat Kedar Pandey (Congress), in Kahalgaon, Rajnish Bharti (RJD) will compete against Praveen Singh Kushwaha (Congress) and in Sikandra (SC), Uday Narayan Chaudhary (RJD) is pitted against Vinod Chaudhary (Congress). Other seats are—Vaishali, Rajapakar, Bachhwara, Biharsharif and Kargahar.Patna: With Bihar assembly polls less than two weeks, senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday asserted that all was well within INDIA bloc or Mahagathbandhan, and contended that there was no problem with friendly contests among allies of the alliance on 5-10 seats

Amid reports of widening rift between allies of the opposition bloc, Gehlot met RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav to discuss the issue of ‘friendly fights’ over eight assembly seats where Congress, RJD and other allies have fielded candidates against each other. “Friendly contests on a few seats should not be viewed as discord within the coalition,” he remarked.

Speaking to the media, Gehlot said that he held discussions with Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav and everything has been resolved. “A press conference will be held tomorrow (Thursday) to update the media about the existing situation. All INDIA bloc partners will contest elections together,” he said.

Former Rajasthan chief minister said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav would soon start an election campaign together. “There are 243 seats in Bihar assembly. Friendly contests take place in other states as well. Mahagathbandhan is united and firm to take on the BJP-JD(U) combine,” he added.

Gehlot’s meeting with Lalu and Tejashwi comes a day after Congress general secretary K C Venugopal spoke with Tejashwi to resolve the ‘friendly fight’ issue as it has sent a wrong message to masses ahead of elections. Gehlot rushed to Patna along with Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru to meet RJD leaders to resolve the issue.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) had earlier named Ashok Gehlot as senior election observer for the Bihar assembly elections. In response to a media query, Gehlot said that winning assembly elections in Bihar was very important, more so after the alliance of which Congress was a part lost Maharashtra.

The seats where RJD, Congress and its allies have fielded their candidates against each other include Narkatiaganj where Deepak Yadav (RJD) will face Shashwat Kedar Pandey (Congress), in Kahalgaon, Rajnish Bharti (RJD) will compete against Praveen Singh Kushwaha (Congress) and in Sikandra (SC), Uday Narayan Chaudhary (RJD) is pitted against Vinod Chaudhary (Congress). Other seats are—Vaishali, Rajapakar, Bachhwara, Biharsharif and Kargahar.

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