Congress legislature party meet in Bihar to discuss pol situation

The Congress has convened a meeting of its legislature party in Bihar on Monday to discuss the political situation in the state and will ''welcome" Chief Minister Nitish Kumar into the opposition camp if he chose to snap ties with BJP, party sources said.

AICC secretary Shakil Ahmed Khan, who is also a party MLA, said the meeting will be held at the residence of Congress legislature party leader Ajeet Sharma and is likely to be attended by the party's in charge of Bihar, Bhakt Charan Das, who is scheduled to reach here in the evening.

"We always believe that parties with similar ideologies (samaan vichardhara) should come together. If the CM's JD(U), which believes in socialist ideology, quits BJP we will definitely welcome it. But these are early days. We will discuss the unfolding situation at the meeting in the evening", Khan told PTI-Bhasha over phone.

Asked to comment on reports that the Kumar had spoken to AICC president Sonia Gandhi over phone, Khan said "I cannot confirm it. Only top leaders of the party can comment on such matters".

He, however, dismissed queries about any realignment hitting a roadblock on account of the Congress' estrangement with RJD and the Left.

"We wholeheartedly participated in Sunday's 'Pratirodh march' here by the combined opposition," he said.

About whether Congress would back Kumar or RJD's Tejashwi Yadav for the chief minister's post, Khan said, "That is a premature question. First, let Nitish Kumar officially announce that his tie-up with the BJP is over".

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)