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Congress says `no' to Paswan's gesture

K.V. Prasad

This will eat into secular votes: Digvijay

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday refused to reciprocate the Lok Jan Shakti Party's decision not to field candidates against it in the Bihar Assembly elections, saying the third alternative forged by the LJP would eat into secular votes.

But the Communist Party of India disputed the claim, arguing that the formation would actually attract a share of the anti-Rashtriya Janata Dal votes.

Mr. Paswan "is most welcome to join us [in the secular alliance of the Congress, the RJD, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Nationalist Congress Party], otherwise there would be no quid pro quo," AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, in-charge of party affairs in the State, said here.

He was responding to questions on the Congress approach to the LJP, which did not prefer to join hands with the RJD. Although the contours of a three-way electoral battle have been drawn, the final shape would emerge after Mr. Paswan meets Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the next two days. The LJP has tied up with the Communist Party of India, the CPI (M-L) Liberation and others.

In defence of third alternative

Discounting the theory that the LJP-CPI alliance would get votes at the expense of the RJD/Congress, CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan said the third alternative would take away the "anti-Lalu/RJD" votes from the Janata Dal (United)/Bharatiya Janata Party. It would prevent anti-RJD votes getting consolidated and going the JD (U)/BJP way.

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