Bihar Grand alliance is “strong and intact’ says Congress

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ Soon after Nitish Kumar took potshots at Congress, the grand old party tried to downplay reports of a rift in the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, saying that its alliance with JD(U) and the RJD is “strong and intact.”

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi on Monday said the issues that arose between the Congress and JD(U) were restricted to the choice of a presidential candidate, which, he added, was now a closed chapter.

“Whatever had to happen has happened, as far as presidential election is concerned. It has absolutely no effect on our relationship as far as the JD-U and Congress and other parties are concerned in Bihar,” Singhvi said, adding that the coalition is strong and stable, and everybody stands by each other.

He also said one should not attach much importance to Nitish Kumar’s remarks in which he had blamed the Congress for the “ongoing mess” in the opposition and for not forming an alliance in Uttar Pradesh and Assam.

There has been speculation about a rift in the state government – a coalition of the JD(U), RJD and the Congress – after Nitish Kumar decided to support the NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind instead of the opposition’s nominee from the Congress.