Janjivan Bureau
New Delhi: The JDU and RJD will contest on 100 seats each while Congress will fight on 40 seats in the 243-member Bihar Assembly elections, scheduled to take place in September-October, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar announced on Wednesday. Announcement made in a joint press conference along with RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Congress leader CP Joshi, JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar.
In the Assembly elections in 2010, the JDU had contested on 141 seats and won 115 seats while their ally BJP fought on 102 seats and won on 91. However, the alliance between the two parties broke in June 2013 over the projection of Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The term of the current Assembly ends on November 29.
Kumar announced coming into being of the grand secular alliance and seat sharing among the three parties in presence of RJD President Lalu Prasad and Congress General Secretary and in-charge of Bihar affairs C P Joshi at a joint press conference.
After his conviction in fodder scam, Lalu Yadav was debarred from contesting elections. The JDU-RJD alliance have projected Nitish Kumar as their chief ministerial candidate, while suspense continues over the CM face of the BJP.
Nitish Kumar told reporters that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has been with them in the recent election for Legislative Council 24 seats and they would like it to be with them in the Bihar poll. Kumar indicated the three seats would be given to Sharad Pawar’s NCP if they join the combine.
On his turn Lalu said ‘Swabhimaan rally’ will be held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on 30th August. Expressing confidence over the ‘maha gathbandhan’ (grand alliance), the RJD chief said the BJP will suffer a crushing defeat in the 2015 Bihar polls.
Prime Minister Modi, while attacking Nitish Kumar at a rally in Muzaffarpur on July 25, had said that it seemed that there was “some problem with Nitish Kumar`s DNA”, referring to his constant change of political allegiance.