NDA allies to decide on Bihar LS seats soon: JD(U)

PATNA: The ruling JD(U) Monday said that the names of the Lok Sabha seats on which the three NDA allies in Bihar will contest in the upcoming general election will be announced "very soon".

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), chief minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) are the three constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar.

As per the seat-sharing formula chalked out by the allies, the first two will contest 17 seats each, leaving six for LJP out of a total of 40 LS constituencies in the state.

The LJP will also be given a Rajya Sabha berth and Paswan is likely to be its candidate.

The names of Lok Sabha seats, on which the three constituents of Bihar NDA will contest, is being discussed and an announcement will be made very soon, JD national general secretary (organisation) and Rajya Sabha member Ram Chandra Prasad Singh said.

Singh along with party's national secretary general KC Tyagi was briefing reporters after JD(U) national executive meeting chaired by Kumar here.

Giving details of other decisions taken at the national executive, Tyagi said the party had sought an opinion from all its state units about chances its prospects of fighting the general election outside Bihar.

Tyagi said a three-member committee, comprising RCP Singh, Prashant Kishor and himself, had been formed on Monday to hold talks with the state units and apprise Kumar about it.

An earlier national executive meet of the JD(U) had authorised the party national president to take a decision on the states as well as the number of seats that the party should contest on.

In his address at the meet, Kumar made his intentions clear that he wants the JD(U) to get back the status of a national party with increased number of seats in Parliament like the Samata Party or the JD(U) once had, Tyagi said.

All efforts should be made to regain its old glory, Tyagi added quoting Kumar.

The senior leader reiterated his party's stand on the three contentious issues-- Article 370 and Article 35(A) of the Constitution, Uniform Civil Code and Ram temple.

The party is of the opinion that Article 370 should be maintained and Article 35(A) must not be diluted, he said.

Any amendment should be brought only after the consent of the community with which the issue is related especially after making them the part of decision making process, he said referring to the triple talaq issue.

Altogether four political resolutions were passed at the national executive meeting, Tyagi said.

The party also paid tributes to its founder president George Fernandes, the 40 CRPF jawans who died in the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir and observed two-minute silence in their honour, he added.