CALCUTTA, 4 June 2005 — The Congress Party is taking the initiative to bring Rashtriya Janata Dal and Lok Janshakti Party closer before the Bihar re-elections to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (United) combine from coming to power.

Analysts believe that political sniping between RJD and LJP will soon be over because Sonia Gandhi has made it clear that she wants a secular government in Bihar at any cost after the October-November assembly elections.

“Today Ram Vilas Paswan might say that there is no United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in Bihar but such utterances will soon become a thing of the past”, said a veteran political observer in the economically backward state.

Another observer noted that while Paswan and Lalu Prasad Yadav are expected to stop attacking each other publicly, a bitter fight over seats cannot be ruled out in the run-up to the re-election.

Lalu Prasad has apparently told Sonia and other senior Congress leaders that Paswan’s LJP has lost a lot of ground since its unexpected good performance in the February elections. Paswan, too, is trying to overcome the setback from defections and dissidence in his fledgling party.

Going by the look of things, Paswan would probably settle for between 30 to 40 seats in the 243 seats-strong Bihar legislative assembly.

But the Congress is expected to grab many more seats than last time.

The RJD has no option to concede seats not only to the Congress but also to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India in any seat-sharing formula of a secular front.

Lalu Prasad has also requested Sonia not to hike the price of kerosene and diesel before the Bihar re-election. He also pleaded with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to touch petrol prices.

Paswan’s biggest challenge is to hold on to Muslims who threw their weight behind the LJP in February. The RJD is bound to pull out all stops to woo the disenchanted Muslim voters back.

But Lalu Prasad has flatly rejected Paswan’s latest proposal to project Jabir Hussain, RJD’s legislative council chairman, as the next chief minister.

President’s Rule was imposed in Bihar in March.