The Congress played a major role when it came to Lalu Prasad ageing to an alliance with Ram Vilas Paswan. At that time, Paswan had almost decided to side with JD (U) and was in constant touch with several JD (U) leaders. But his problem was that he didn’t want to leave the Congress either. In the nick of time, the Congress conducted a public opinion , and results were eye-opening for the Congress people. It showed that if the Congress decides to do it on its own in Bihar, the party will not get even one seat. If it sides with Nitish, it might get one seat, but if it contests the elections after an alliance with Lalu-Paswan, it might win four-five seats out of 10. Ram Vilas Paswan may also win half of the eight seats from the alliance and Lalu may win 12-15. This survey cleared the road for Lalu’s coalition in Bihar.