New Delhi, Patna:
A confident Rahul Gandhi set the rules of the game for his party and changed some along the way. At his first major press conference in the Capital, Rahul laid out the battle plan.
Part of his plan seemed to be to make peace with the Left whom he had just recently described as an old party with old ideas.
"There is a lot of common ground to do with the Left. There is a reasonable amount of common space," he said.
He also showered some unexpected praise for Nitish Kumar whose JD(U) is likely to do very well in Bihar.
"Nitish has done good work. You all like that," Rahul said.
And he didn't even rule out tying up with AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, saying, "After elections all options are open."
It was a pragmatic approach from Rahul's side, but courting allies both old and new isn't going to be that simple.
Nitish thanked him for the compliment, but that was not all.
"The work that is happening here is clear to all. There is no chance of going with the Congress," Nitish said.
The Left, meanwhile, called Rahul's confidence misplaced.
"The CPM and the Left are to achieve the combination of non-BJP and non-Congress governments. All the other issues can be taken up post-elections. That's not on the agenda today," said CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury.
Rahul Gandhi, in his speech, set the ground rules that the Congress will not be a silent by-stander and there is no question of supporting a government from outside.