Lalu, Paswan reach seat-sharing agreement in Bihar

NEW DELHI: In a joint press conference, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and LJP leader Ramvilas Paswan announced their seat-sharing arrangement for Lok Sabha polls in Bihar.

The RJD will contest 25 seats, and the LJP will contest 12 out of the 40 seats. Lalu Prasad said three seats have been left for the Congress,

“We’re fighting to form a secular government,” Lalu told reporters. “We’re with the UPA and will remain with the UPA,” he added.

Lalu also said both parties would fight together in Jharkhand.

The agreement marks a major concession on Lalu's part, as well as a confirmation that he is finding himself on a weak turf. Last time, Paswan's LJP contested 8 seats losing half of them.

But due to the changed political situation with Nitish Kumar-led NDA consolidating its political gains, Lalu seems to have been forced, going by the version of LJP sources, to acquiesce in the terms set by Paswan.

Interestingly, no Congress leader was present at the press conference. When asked about the absence of Congress leaders, the railway minister said "We have not called them to the press conference."

Asked whether Congress was hurt, the railway minister said "My brother in law (Sadhu Yadav) is also angry." Paswan said the matter of how many seats Congress will get was between RJD and Congress.

In the last elections, the three parties RJD, Congress and LJP had contested under a pre-poll agreement in which CPI and NCP were also a part. CPI is now no longer with the UPA and NCP has already announced that it would contest 14 seats.

Of the four constituencies from where it had contested in 2004, Congress had won Aurangabad, Madhubani and Sasaram seats.

During the seat sharing talks with LJP, Prasad was under tremendous pressure from its MPs as well as senior leaders not to contest less than 24 seats, two more than what it had won last time.

The tussle for seats was mainly between Prasad, who wanted 26 seats, and Paswan, who had threatened to go it alone if his party was not given 16 seats, double of the 8 it contested last time.

This time Congress had sought six seats.

Source : Times of India