Samastipur, Tuesday 21 April 2009: The war of words between RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and Congress escalated on Tuesday with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee saying the Bihar strongman will find it difficult even to find a ministerial berth after the Lok Sabha elections.

“Who will form government? BJP, NDA or the Third Front or Lalu? Leave alone forming the government, Lalu will find it difficult to become even a minister because he is with nobody (not in any major front),” Mukherjee told an election rally here.

Mukherjee was rushed here after Congress President Sonia Gandhi failed to make the trip due to unassigned reason.

He also said that the Congress had asked for a just division of seats between Congress and RJD in Bihar but it was given only three seats.

Mukherjee’s remarks came barely hours after Lalu said it could not be taken for granted that Manmohan Singh was the UPA government’s future Prime Minister.

Lalu, who had hitherto been saying that Manmohan Singh would be the next UPA Prime Minister, in a somersault this morning said “UPA is a confederation of secular parties and does not belong only to the Congress.

“We will sit together (after the elections are over) to chalk out a common minimum programme and in consultation with all our partners select a leader who will be the prime minister.”

The Congress, which has for the first time projected Singh as UPA’s prime ministerial candidate, took umbrage against Lalu and despatched its senior most leader Mukherjee to take him on.

Lalu had first irked Congress by striking an alliance with Ramvilas Paswan’s LJP leaving just three seats and that too those it had won the last time for Congress.

Congress retaliated and declared it would field candidates in all 40 constituencies of Bihar.

The RJD president then raised Congress’ hackles by saying the party could not escape the blame for the demolition of the Babri mosque as it was in power at the Centre when it was brought down.