Grand alliance govt will not last long, says Paswan

LJP supremo and Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan on Sunday said the grand alliance will not take long to collapse due to “ego clash” between the RJD and the JD(U) resulting in mid-term poll in Bihar.

“The GA government may have got a landslide mandate, but it will not last long due to ‘ego clash’ between the RJD and the JD(U) and a mid-term poll will follow,” Paswan told reporters. Asked what made him say so, the Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister said everyone knew of the contrasting styles of functioning of the RJD and the JD(U) and the strain between them would soon be visible. Paswan, who presided over a review meeting of the poor performance of his party LJP, a constituent of the NDA, in the Bihar poll, in which it could win only two seats out of 41 it contested, said it was a wave in favour of the ruling alliance which tilted the balance.

The GA hugely benefitted from transfer of voters by the constituent parties to each other’s candidates, though there was not a sizeable difference in the votes polled by the rival alliances with the ruling coalition getting about 1.70 crore votes against the NDA’s 1.30 crore, the minister noted.