RJD steamrolls INDIA allies in Bihar, to contest 26 of 40 seats
The RJD will contest 26 seats, nine more than it had fought in 2019 when it drew a blank. The Congress has nine seats, as many as it had contested in the last elections.
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PATNA: The RJD-led Mahagathbandhan in Bihar on Friday announced its formula for seat-sharing, with Lalu Prasad’s party laying claim on nearly two-thirds of the state’s 40 parliamentary constituencies, virtually steamrolling allies - the Congress and three Left parties.
The RJD will contest 26 seats, nine more than it had fought in 2019 when it drew a blank. The Congress has nine seats, as many as it had contested in the last elections, followed by CPI(ML) Liberation (three) and CPI and CPM (one each). The RJD has also wrested from the Congress Purnia, a seat the latter has been contesting in the past few Lok Sabha polls.
The belated announcement, coming a day after the filing of nomination papers for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls was over, was made at a press conference here addressed by RJD national spokesman and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha, state Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh and state-level leaders of CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI and CPM.
Tejashwi Yadav, the Mahagathbandhan’s leader in the state legislature, was scheduled to address the press conference but remained conspicuous by his absence.
Jha said names of candidates would be announced soon. “We have arrived at a unanimous decision. We will defeat NDA at the hustings,” he said.
