The Hindu : New Delhi News : Countdown begins for Assembly polls

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 07, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Countdown begins for Assembly polls

NEW DELHI, JAN. 6. With the countdown for Assembly elections in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana having begun, smaller parties have got busy seeking to forge alliances and form third fronts to counter the two major combinations - BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led UPA.

In Bihar, eight parties which includes Samata Party, CPI(ML), SJP, Samajwadi Party, RLD, Soshit Samaj Dal and Bhartiya Momin Front are busy trying to form a Third Front to counter RJD led by Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

``Our effort is to form a front comprising of smaller and regional parties and in this era of coalition politics, we would emerge as a Third Front to counter the others,'' said Samata Party President Brahmanand Mandal.

Meanwhile, President of Jharkhand Vikas Dal Suraj Mandal said that his party alongwith Paswan's party and others including the Samata Party and the Marxists Coordination Centre (MCC) of former MP A K Roy have formed a Third Front in Jharkhand to fight the Assembly elections.

In Haryana, the Samata Party has formed an alliance with five others including Rashtriya Lok Dal, Jai Jawan Jai Kisan Mazdoor Party launched by Sunil Shastri after leaving the BJP.

Jharkhand Vikas Dal President Mandal said that the parties of the Third Front would be meeting in Ranchi on January 11 to decide on the leadership issue. The meeting is also expected to chalk out the strategy for the Assembly elections.

Samata President Brahmanand Mandal described as ``white lies'' that Naxalites or Maoists groups were responsible for the recent attacks in Munger saying ``the state power is being used and the blame is being put on naxalites and other groups. They do not exist in these areas. I have been elected thrice from this region to Lok Sabha and I know the area very well.''

A meeting of the LJP Parliamentary Board is slated for January 12 to finalise the seats for the Haryana Assembly elections followed the next day by a meeting of the Board in Ranchi to decide on Jharkhand Assembly seats. - PTI

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