Lalu refutes deputy’s claim,says no pact with Cong after polls

“We are going to pull off a spectacular victory and form a government on our own,” he said.

Asked about the party vice-president’s statement yesterday,Prasad said,”There is no truth in that. I have spoken to Singh. He has denied having made such a statement.”

Reacting to Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s observation on Monday that Bihar had failed to develop in the last 20 years due to the misrule of the successive governments,the RJD chief said,”If that is so,the Congress should remember it was part of the 15-year-old RJD government for long. This proves that the Congress also failed to initiate development measures.”

The Congress leaders,he said,were indulging in a blamegame as they had nothing new to say during the election campaign.

Prasad accused the Congress of contesting all the 243 seats for the benefit of the NDA.

Meanwhile,Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday alleged the RJD and Congress were in a secret pact and RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh’s statement that his party might seek the support of the Congress after the polls had vindicated his stand.

“The statement of Singh has proved that the game has been fixed between the Congress and the RJD. We have always believed that they are fighting separately only to join later.

Their purpose is clear. They act separately against us,but are together in all things,” Kumar said.

Singh had yesterday said the RJD would seek Congress support to form a government in Bihar in the event of the coming polls throwing up a hung Assembly.

“We will see what comes up after the elections. In the event of the RJD-LJP alliance falling short of majority,it will approach Congress and other secular parties for support,” Singh had yesterday said.