Former Bihar Chief Ministers Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad on Monday launched a joint campaign in support of their alliance candidates for the August 21 Assembly by-polls, and took on ruling BJP at the Centre.

The two leaders have been bitter foes for almost two decades.

Kumar, who had parted ways with Lalu in 1994 and succeeded in dethroning him in Bihar in 2005 in alliance with BJP.

Nitish Kumar said, the allaince with Lalu is the need of the hour as what he called the country is in danger.

Hitting out at BJP, Kumar said it is for the first time that those leaders are in power who did not spend a single day in jail during freedom struggle.