Asserting that “all is well” within the INDIA bloc in Bihar, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said “friendly contests” between alliance partners on a few seats in the assembly polls should not be viewed as discord within the coalition.Talking to reporters after meeting RJD supremo Lalu Prasad amidst a stalemate over seat-sharing, Gehlot said, “I had a good discussion with Lalu ji and Tejashwi Yadav. A press conference will be held tomorrow to update the media about the current situation. All constituents of the INDIA bloc will unitedly contest against the NDA candidates.” “All is well with the INDIA bloc. Whatever is being reported by a section of the media is not correct. A friendly contest between alliance partners on five to seven seats in the assembly polls should not be interpreted otherwise,” he said.
Our leader Rahul Gandhi, and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav will soon start the election campaign together, he said.
“There are 243 seats in the assembly. Friendly fights happen in other states as well. Mahagathbandhan is firm and united to fight against the BJP and JD(U),” he said.
There are at least eight assembly seats in the state – Narkatiaganj, Vaishali, Rajapakar, Rosera, Bachhwara, Kahalgaon, Biharsharif and Sikandara – where constituents of the INDIA bloc will fight against each other due to internal discord between the Congress, RJD and Left parties over seat-sharing arrangements.