Nitish Kumar, who had parted ways with Lalu in 1994 and succeeded in dethroning him in Bihar in 2005 in alliance with BJP, said the Narendra Modi government at the Centre knows that it cannot fulfil the tall promises it has made and will resort to spreading religious passion to cling to power.

They (Lalu-Nitish) will become a danger & a challenge to each other very soon, there is no danger to BJP: MA Naqvi pic.twitter.com/5a0fKbNXOt — ANI (@ANI_news) August 11, 2014

NEW DELHI: RJD chief Lalu Prasad and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on Monday launched a joint campaign for the August 21 byelection to 10 assembly seats in Bihar.The two former chief ministers shared stage after nearly 23 years, marking the beginning of a new phase in the politics of the state.Lalu attacked the NDA govt and took digs at Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a rally at Hajipur with Nitish Kumar.The two leaders also attacked Ram Vilas Paswan and called him an opportunist.Lalu hoped that Mulayam Singh Yadav and Maywati also joined hands in Uttar Pradesh to defeat the BJP."They can run government. They cannot run the country. Did 'achchhe din (good days)' come?" he asked, referring to BJP's slogan during elections."Achchhe din will never come. But they have come for some people in BJP. In fact, their 'apne din (own days)' have come," said Kumar, who split with BJP last year over his opposition to Modi's elevation as prime ministerial candidate of BJP, and quit as chief minister after his party JD(U) was routed in the recent Lok Sabha polls.BJP, meanwhile, played down the coming together of the two regional leaders."They (Lalu-Nitish) will become a danger & a challenge to each other very soon, there is no danger to BJP," BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.Chirag Paswan, son of Ram Vilas Paswan, said the coming together of the two forces showed that they were scared of BJP and LJP.Lalu and Nitish will address another rally at Mohiuddinnagar later in the day.They will jointly address three more meetings at Narkatiaganj, Chhapra and Mohania on August 17.JD(U), RJD and Congress have formed a 'grand alliance' to defeat the BJP in the bypoll.It was in 1991 Lok Sabha polls that Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar were last seen together in campaigning. Nitish Kumar, who had contested from Barh constituency then, had lost.Their alliance was announced on July 30 and their leaders said the move was necessary to strengthen secular forces and to defeat communal parties.JD(U) and RJD, which parted ways in 1994, came together after the BJP swept the recent Lok Sabha polls in Bihar.(With inputs from agencies)