Last-ditch effort by Cong to keep JD-U chief on board

NEW DELHI: The Congress plans to make one last ditch effort to persuade Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar to withdraw his resignation and save Bihar’s Grand Alliance from collapsing.

Congress sources did not rule out the possibility of party chief Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi speaking to Kumar in an attempt to prevent him from going back to the National Democratic Alliance.

Congress general secretary and Bihar in-charge, CP Joshi, is scheduled to rush back to the national capital from Jaipur to take part in consultations with the party leadership.

On Saturday, Kumar had met Rahul and reportedly discussed the probability of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav continuing as deputy chief minister against the backdrop of corruption allegations against him.

But Congress sources said Kumar did not inform Rahul about his intentions to resign if Tejashwi was not asked to quit.

A Congress leader said Kumar informed Joshi about his decision to resign just before he put in his papers at the Raj Bhavan.

For his part, Joshi requested Kumar to wait but “he didn’t wait,” the Congress leader said.

The Congress expressed disappointment over Kumar’s resignation and insisted it will continue to strive to resolve the differences in the Grand Alliance.

Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the tie-up was given a mandate by the people of Bihar for five years on the basis of its policies and principles. “We are disappointed by the news of resignation of Nitish Kumar. The Congress president and the vicepresident hold Nitish in great respect and affection,” he said.

The Congress leader said the 2015 Bihar assembly elections outcome was also a mandate against the BJP and Prime Minister Narender Modi, who challenged the honour of Bihar.

“Responsibility lies upon each one of us to respect this mandate. Congress party will do everything within its means to ensure that this mandate is honoured,” Surjewala said.

“We will try and sort any differences of opinion that may have cropped up by speaking to each other in an amicable and cordial fashion.” But a section in the Congress is not hopeful of Kumar reversing his decision given that the JD(U) leader praised demonetisation and also thanked the Prime Minister for his tweets hailing his move.

CONGRESS SOURCES DID NOT RULE OUT THE POSSIBILITY OF SONIA AND RAHUL GANDHI SPEAKING TO KUMAR IN A BID TO STOP HIM FROM GOING BACK TO THE NDA