Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) Tejashwi Yadav is confident that the RJD-led Grand Alliance or Mahagathbandhan would win the by-elections for the two Vidhan Sabha seats from Tarapur and Kusheshwar Asthan, to be held on Saturday, 30 November, after which they would form the government in Bihar.
"BJP formed a government in Madhya Pradesh. They did not have any numbers before that. So how did they do that? My point is, why should we reveal our strategy now in the open so that we are not successful?" Yadav, the leader of the opposition, told The Quint in an exclusive interview.
Both the seats are currently held by the ruling Janata Dal (United) or JD (U), who will aim to retain the seats in the assembly. The Grand Alliance has 110 seats in the 243-member House, while the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 126. The Grand Alliance needs 122 seats to form a government.
While the numbers are not in favour of the Mahagathbandhan, Lalu Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav are hopeful that when the results are declared on 2 November, they will be in favour of the Mahagathbandhan.
When asked about the formation of the new government in the state, he said, "As I said, let us take the first step. Till then, wait for the results on 2 November. After that, you would get to know about our second step."
Commenting on former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) leader Mukesh Saini, who quit the Grand Alliance to contest 11 seats from the BJP's quota in the NDA, remarks that they won't be supporting the Grand Alliance, he said, "Let it be. Why talk about them?
It's time to keep patience. If we reveal everything now itself, then how would we be successful?"
'People Eager to Hear From Lalu Ji'
On Wednesday, 27 October, Lalu Prasad Yadav will be speaking in his first election rally in six years after returning from jail on bail. Speaking on the same, Tejashwi said, "People are eager to hear from Lalu Yadav. Tomorrow's public meetings are going to be historical. Lalu Ji will only talk about work and things that matter.
"This current government has come to power through fraud. Lalu Ji will talk about the youth, farmers' protests, education, healthcare. He will speak against all those who are against brotherhood and peace."
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