Lalu's chances of retaining cabinet berth remote

Explaining the term "pre-poll allies", AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh on Monday said, "Along with Congress, we have NCP, DMK, IUML, Trinamool Congress, National Conference, Kerala Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. These are the allies."

Singh also referred to the statement of party media department in-charge Janardan Dwivedi, who had categorically said that Congress will discuss the issue of government formation with its pre-poll allies.

"Pre-poll allies as Janardan Dwivedi has indicated does not include RJD at the moment," Singh said, when asked about Prasad's party.

Acknowledging that Prasad is a member of the UPA government "as of now", the Congress leader was quick to add, "he (Prasad) did not consider us (Congress) strong enough for a pre-poll alliance."

RJD, the main opposition party in Bihar, contested the Lok Sabha election in alliance with Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP while Congress fought on its own in the state.

While RJD bagged four seats in Bihar, LJP drew a blank. Congress managed to win two seats. There are a total of 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

After the remarkable improvement in Congress' performance in Uttar Pradesh, party leaders from Bihar have now upped the ante for replicating UP formula (of going it alone in polls) in Bihar as well. This could act as another dampener for the RJD chief's prospects of getting into the ministry.

Asked about the possibility of Prasad's inclusion in the ministry, Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said, "We will cross the bridge when we come to it. It is too premature at this point to make a comment."

He maintained the party's target now is to govern "without getting distracted from the kind of bickering, which a coalition government sees."

"The question is how to ensure stability for the next five years," he said, adding that "it's not a question of numbers any more."

At the same time, Digvijay Singh praised the RJD chief for standing by the Congress when it was in the opposition and termed him as "a very senior and seasoned politician."

"Lalu is the person who stood in support of Sonia Gandhi, when everybody was opposing. We cannot forget this," Singh said.