(Repeating DI 22 inserting matter in para three)

New Delhi, Apr 28 (UNI) Railway Minister Lalu Prasad may have launched a series of spectacular initiatives to take head-on the competition from low-cost budget airlines but this is one challenge he will not grudge.

It is a ''win-win'' situation for both sides as the flamboyant RJD supremo has settled for his third daughter a groom, who prefers to roam in the skies rather than travel on the rail tracks: He is a pilot with Indian.

Chanda is all set to tie the knot with Vikram Singh, an Indian co-pilot from Kapasheda (South-West Delhi) and son of Capt.

Vishnu Narayan Yadav, Chief Security Officer at the IIT, Delhi, on April 30.

By all accounts, it is going to be a glittering affair when the marriage is solemnised at the resplendent Ashoka Hotel.

Incidentally, it is going to be first marriage of a daughter of Mr Prasad which is going to take place not in Bihar but in Delhi.

Mr Prasad, a former Chief Minister of Bihar, wed off his two daughters from Patna with great pomp and pageantry.

However, a grand reception is planned in Patna after Chanda's marriage is solemnised.

Invitation cards have already been sent to the Who's Who of political and social circles. Beginning with President APJ Abdul Kalam, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, wedding cards have been sent to all the Cabinet ministers, including his political rival Steel and Chemical&Fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, several chief ministers, besides Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and top officials of various ministries and departments.

Sources said the marriage rituals would be conducted under the expert guidance of 'pandits' (priests) being brought from Patna.

The Railway Minister, who is a great follower of Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev, has also invited him to bless the couple. The Swami has recently been declared as the ''Brand Ambassador'' of Bihar by the state chief minister, who is also a great admirer of the Yoga Guru.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, leaders of the opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani and in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh, veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya, CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat, party Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury, CPI leaders A B Bardhan and D Raja, besides chiefs of regional paries, are expected to grace the occasion.

The marriage ceremony would be held at the Convention Hall of the hotel amid tight security arrangements in view of the likely presence of VVIPs.

For the cuisines, vegetarian dishs from various states will form the substantial chunk of the menu for the dinner. ''The Minister wants that the food should be vegetarian and as simple as possible'', the sources said.

Mr Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi, a former chief minister of Bihar, are the parents of seven daughters and two sons. His two daughters Misa and Rohini are married and one of his sons is a budding cricketer.

The Railway Ministry denied that it would be running a special train for the guests from Patna.

UNI SKS RP KN1435