RJD chief Lalu Prasad (left) and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar at a by-election rally in Hajipur last week
Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav, who recently joined hands after more than 20 years of political rivalry, will hold their second rally today in Chhapra, in northeastern part of Bihar, and in two other places in the state.
The two leaders are campaigning together for by-polls for 10 Assembly seats scheduled to be held on August 21.
The dismal performance of their parties - the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United) - in the national elections impelled both Mr Kumar and Mr Yadav to bury their differences and take on the bigger enemy, the BJP, together. In a massive sweep in the general elections this time, the BJP pushed their parties to the fringes. Of the state's 40 Lok Sabha seats, Lalu's RJD managed just four and Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) only two.
The Congress is the third party in the alliance, formed with an aim to counter the BJP in Bihar.
In their first joint appearance in Hajipur last week, both Mr Kumar and Mr Yadav played bhai-bhai (brothers) as they warmly held hands and later sipped tea on stage.
At the rally, Mr Kumar also defended his decision to join hands with Mr Yadav and said that an alliance of secular parties in Bihar would serve as a "medicine to neutralise the poison of communalism BJP was spreading in the country after coming to power". Mr Yadav too said that the cause of defeating the BJP was well worth burying the hatchet with the most bitter foe.
The RJD, the JD(U) and the Congress have put together a seat-sharing formula for the by-elections. Under the arrangement, Mr Kumar and Mr Yadav's parties will contest four seats each; the Congress gets the other two.
The by-polls are being considered the semi-final event, with the grand finale being the state elections due next year.