Patna, Apr 5: The Lok Sabha polls will take place on schedule next year "in all likelihood" as the Congress is adept at manipulating numbers to ensure that the UPA II government stayed "afloat", Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said Thursday.
"The next Lok Sabha polls will be held on time in all likelihood as the Congress knows the technique to manage numbers through manipulation," he told reporters here.
Congress has mastered the craft to ensure survival of the UPA government, he said. "It (Cong) somehow succeeds in managing numbers," Kumar said referring to the Manmohan Singh government staying in power despite the withdrawal of support by Trinamool Congress and the DMK in the past few months.
However, if mid-term polls were to take place, it will be decided by the Congress and its allies, the Chief Minister said without elaborating.
"If the Congress and its allies have made up their minds to hold mid-term polls, then only it will happen. Otherwise the general elections will take place on schedule," he said.
Quizzed for his assessment, Kumar said it was difficult to speculate about the mid-term polls or its timing as in the present context it was for the Congress and its allies to take a call on it.
JD(U) is prepared to face the parliamentary polls whenever it takes place, he said, adding, the credibility and integrity of Congress and the UPA government has "eroded beyond repair" and has affected its electoral prospects.
