ULB to contest 33 LS seats in Bihar

PATNA: Leaders of newly-floated United Left Bloc (ULB), comprising CPI, CPM and CPI(ML), who met here at ML state headquarters here on Wednesday
finally reached broad consensus on seat sharing among the three parties in Bihar for the Lok Sabha (LS) polls. The ULB would contest 33 of the 40 LS seats in Bihar. As far as the remaining seven seats are concerned, the ULB would support candidates of its choice.

Broadly speaking, the CPI would contest seven seats, including Begusarai, Madhubani, Purvi Champaran, Khagaria, Jamui and Banka. The CPM would be contesting five seats -- Paschim Champaran, Ujiyarpur, Bhagalpur, Nawada and Supaul whereas the ML would be contesting 21 seats -- Gopalganj, Siwan, Maharajganj, Balmiki Nagar, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Purnia and Katihar -- in north Bihar and almost all the seats of Central Bihar except for Nawada and Aurangabad. No left constituent staked its claim on Aurangabad seat, according ULB sources.

The meet was attended by former CPI state secretary Jalaluddin Ansari, CPM state secretary Vijaykant Thakur, CPM state secretariat members Arun Kumar Mishra and Sarvodaya Sharma and ML central committee members -- Krishna Deo Yadav and Dhirendra Jha.

The list would be formally approved by the state committees of the three Left parties and would be formally announced jointly by the ULB leaders, said a participant wishing anonymity.

CPI representative Ansari, CPM state secretary Thakur and ML representative Jha refused to divulge the details of the meeting, but told TOI that the meeting reached a broad consensus on seat sharing and there was no major clash of interest among the three parties in this regard. The meeting was held in cordial atmosphere, they said.

Source : Times of India