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Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Seat tussle holds Grand Alliance plan to counter NDA in Bihar

The tussle over allocation of seats among the Grand Alliance (GA) parties may continue for a few days, even as senior leaders of the coalition engaged in discussions in New Delhi on Monday to sort out the differences persisting on a few seats.

Some senior leaders of the Congress, currently engaged in negotiations with GA leader, comprising Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular, Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), said that there were some minor issues that would be amicably resolved soon.

“The leaders are meeting at the residence of AICC general secretary KC Venugopal to sort out the differences. Hopefully, seat-to-seat talks are going on with leaders of the GA. Some compromises on seats or swapping of seats are also not ruled out to ensure the defeat of NDA ,” said a senior Congress leader.

RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha, who reached Delhi from Patna on Monday to attend the GA meeting, left within an hour of landing in the capital.

The RJD has been asking the Congress to contest in nine seats instead of 11, suggesting that Congress might not pose a serious challenge to the NDA. It also wants to allocate more seats to allies like RLSP and HAM-S, much to the discomfort of Congress. Some of the coalition leaders said that the RJD’s insistence to make Congress surrender a couple of seats may lead to the breakup of the GA.

Besides the dispute over number of seats to be contested, the RJD has asked to Congress to reconsider its plan of fielding candidates from Katihar, Darbhanga, Motihari and Valmikinagar, while RLSP is keen to contest from Karakat for which RJD has been preparing for many months.

A senior leader of the RJD claimed that RJD chief Lalu Prasad wanted to leave Katihar for NCP as per an old agreement with the party. Recently, former MP and NCP leader BP Tripathi met Prasad at Ranchi and sought his intervention to field former MLA Mohammad Shakoor from Katihar, while sitting MP Tariq Anwar was being asked to contest from Kishanganj.

The RJD is also learnt to have disagree with Congress’s plan to contest from Darbhanga and Madhubani, and asked Congress to opt for one. Similarly, the Congress has been urged to fight from Valmikinagar and forgo its claim on Motihari, which was sought by Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) campaign committee chairman Akhilesh Prasad Singh for fielding a Congress candidate.

The fans of former RJD MP Jagadanand Singh are also seeking the break-up of the Congress-RJD tie, lest it could eclipse their leader’s winning chance from Buxar. The RJD had won the seat in 2009 Lok Sabha elections, when the party had faired poorly after its breakup with the Congress.

First Published: Mar 19, 2019 12:39 IST

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