The Hindu : Other States / Bihar News : Anti-NDA alliance still nebulous in Bihar

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 17, 2005

Other States

Other States - Bihar

Anti-NDA alliance still nebulous in Bihar

PATNA, JAN. 16. With just a day left for filing of nominations for the first phase of Assembly polls in Bihar, the picture of the anti-NDA secular alliance led by RJD continues to be hazy. It is still unclear which parties would comprise the alliance and the number of seats each would contest.

After several rounds of negotiations marked by hard bargaining, the talks between the RJD and its UPA ally, the Congress, had got deadlocked with the latter staking claim to over 100 of the 243 seats in the State Assembly.

Though both RJD strongman Lalu Prasad and the Congress leadership claim that talks were still on to break the logjam, the Congress nevertheless announced to contest 80 seats though it said it would not field candidates against the sitting MLAs of the RJD and the two left parties--CPI and CPI-M.

The RJD, irked over the Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) unilaterally sealing a poll-pact in Jharkhand without taking it into confidence, is yet to announce even its first list of nominees.

As part of the seat-sharing arrangement in Jharkhand the JMM and the congress decided to contest 35 and 33 seats respectively leaving the rest 13 in the 81-member Assembly for RJD and the left parties.

An angry Lalu announced to have an alliance with CPI, CPI(M) and the NCP in Bihar and invited the Congress to join hands but differences seemed to have cropped up over the number of seats each alliance partner would contest with the result that none of them has announced the list of its candidates.

According to a senior RJD leader who preferred anonymity, Congress' claim over even 80 seats on the plea that it had gained in strength after the last Assembly elections was ``highly inflated''.

The Congress, which had contested the 2000 poll alone fielding its candidates in all the 243 seats had managed to win only 12, finished second in 18 places and its candidates had forfeited their security deposits in 198 seats, he said.

On the other hand, the RJD had fought 225 seats winning 115 and finished second in 74, he added.

After two days of talks with the left parties RJD President Lalu Prasad said yesterday that he would be able to release the list of his party's nominees on January 17, the last date for filing nominations for the first phase of poll on February three.

Lalu, CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury, CPI'S Gaya Singh and NCP general secretary Tariq Anwar maintained that the delay in the release of the list of nominees of their respective parties was because they were discussing the prospects of their candidates on a seat-to-seat basis which was a time consuming process.

However, a senior left party leader told PTI that the serious differences persisted over allotment of seats to CPI, CPI-M and the NCP.

While the CPI, which had contested 109 seats in the last assembly elections on its own winning only two was demanding 38 seats, the CPI-M which fought the last polls on 12 seats in alliance with the RJD and won two had staked claim to 14 this time.

NCP general secretary Tariq Anwar has demanded 12 seats for his party. The NCP had failed to open its account in the 2000 elections finishing second in seven places. - PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News Update

Stories in this Section

Anti-NDA alliance still nebulous in Bihar