Lalu Yadav Speaks To Sonia Gandhi, Calls For Convening Meeting Of All Like-Minded Parties

Lalu Yadav’s remarks hint at a thaw between his party and the Congress as the RJD had recently snubbed the grand old party with its unilateral decision to contest by-polls to both seats.

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav. (File Photo)

New Delhi: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is back in Bihar politics, on Wednesday said that he had a telephonic conversation with Congress president Sonia Gandhi during which he asked her to convene a meeting of all like-minded parties which are opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“I also said she is the leader of a party with an all-India presence and she should convene a meeting of all like-minded parties which are opposed to BJP, “PTI reported the RJD chief as saying after his conversation with Gandhi.

READ: Nitish Kumar Laughs Off Lalu Yadav’s 'Visarjan' Jibe. Says, 'He Can Even Get Me Shot'

Yadav said that the Congress president also enquired about his well-being.

“I told her I am fine,” he added.

Yadav’s remarks hint at a thaw between his party and the Congress as the RJD had recently snubbed the grand old party with its unilateral decision to contest by-polls to both seats.

The by-polls in Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan assembly seats are scheduled for October 30.

The Congress had earlier expressed its disappointment over the RJD’s unilateral decision to contest by-polls.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Bihar, Bhakta Charan Das, earlier said that his party, which has fielded its own candidates for the two seats in the by-poll, would contest all 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the next Lok Sabha polls.

Meanwhile, the RJD supremo addressed a public meeting in Tarapur on Wednesday ahead of Bihar's by-elections later this week.

Addressing an election meeting after a gap of six years, Yadav claimed the RJD-led alliance had fallen short of the majority in the assembly elections last year because of rigging.

He added that they would not have dared to do so had he not been away in jail, serving sentences in the fodder scam.

Yadav also hit back at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had earlier said that the RJD supremo could get him killed.

“Why do I need to kill him? I have said that I have come to complete his visarjan (political annihilation). He will be finished because of his own deeds,” said Yadav, PTI reported.

“He betrayed us and sided with the BJP though the RJD had helped him return to power in 2015. His prohibition law is a sham,” he added.