LJP decision may affect Congress’ poll ties

New Delhi: Developments in Bihar would have a bearing on the Congress’s alliance strategy for the Lok Sabha polls. While the party would find it difficult to get more allies and bargain for more seats in the key states, like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and perhaps Uttar Pradesh, Bihar would see a straight fight between JD(U) and the BJP. The Congress prospective allies in these states and the current partners in Kerala, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir may review the whole strategy of alliances against the backdrop of these developments.
Earlier, the Congress thought that the coming Lok Sabha battle would be fought between secularism and communalism. But the anti-incumbency against the Centre forced the regional parties to distance themselves from the Congress.
As Bihar is concerned, the Congress kept the issue of alliances with the RJD and the LJP pending for long with a calculation that the delay would help the party in getting more seats during the seatsharing talks with the RJD and the LJP. Besides, the Congress had also tried to keep the option of a pre-poll alliance with the JD(U) open. But the Congress strategy had compelled CM Nitish Kumar to move towards a third front.