BJP will meet its Waterloo in Bihar, says Congress

A week after Nitish Kumar organised a Janata Dal (United) pathshala (school) for his party workers from across the state, the Congress too got into poll mode on Tuesday and held a “chintan shivir” (deliberation camp) here in the state capital where senior leaders of faction-ridden party made a frantic bid to bury their differences.

“The BJP is daydreaming of wresting 185 seats in Bihar in a 243-member Assembly. The BJP will meet its Waterloo in Bihar,” said former Union minister and in-charge of Bihar affairs, C P Joshi.

Flanked by BPCC chief Ashok Choudhary and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Sadanand Singh, Joshi said most of the party workers were of the view that the Congress should give up crutches (read: RJD and JD(U)) and stand on its own.

The demand was made at a time when there has been talk of a grand alliance between the JD (U), Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress for the forthcoming Bihar elections in October.

The demand to plough a lonely furrow was made amid the backdrop that Nitish had, of late, expressed his desire to campaign for Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi, which has a sizeable chunk of people from Bihar.

“Nitish is running the government in Bihar with the help of the Congress and wants to campaign for Kejriwal,” a leader complained to Joshi.

He added the JD (U) leader had hurt the party last year as well while campaigning for Om Prakash Chautala-led INLD in Haryana.