New Delhi, Jan 05: Talks between ruling coalition
partners Congress and RJD for seat-sharing arrangement for
next month's assembly polls in Bihar seem to have run into a
hitch with senior RJD leader and Union Minister Raghuvansh
Prasad Singh today describing congress' demand for 106 seats
as "unreasonable."
The RJD also termed as "unreasonble" the demand of CPI
for leaving 35 seats and asked it to bring down its number.
"The Congress' latest demand for getting 106 seats is
unreasonable," Singh, who held the fifth round of talks with
Congress leaders last night, told reporters here.
Singh asked congress to see the "ground reality" and
come out with "reasonable list" so that they could together
inflict a crushing blow to the BJP in the elections.
He was, however, hopeful that this would be sorted out
before the filing of nominations begins on January ten for the
first phase of elections.
Singh said if Congress felt that it was in a better
position, it was free to contest all the seats.
CWC member and in-charge of Bihar Harikesh Bahadur,
PCC president Ramjatan Sinha and CLP leader Vijay Shankar
Dubey have been holding talks with Singh and another Union
Minister Premchand Gupta.
All the sitting candidates and those securing second
position in the last assembly polls have been cleared, Singh
said, adding RJD was of the view that the criterion for
remaining seats should be that one who was in position to
defeat BJP should be given ticket.
The RJD, he said, favoured the lok sabha election
pattern to be adopted for sharing of seats for the assembly
polls. The strength of Bihar assembly is 243.
The Congress had earlier sought 102 seats and now it was
demanding 106 which was "unreasonable", Singh said, adding
RJD could consider accommodating senior Congress leaders.
Asked about the number of seats the alliance partners
would be contesting, Singh said it was not a question
of number. "I am talking about the established formula of
seat-sharing in which sitting MLAs and those who had come
second in the last polls are given tickets," he said.
He had told the congress that it can announce its names
of 17 sitting candidates and others who had come second in the
last polls.
He also hinted there could be friendly contests in some
constituencies between Congress and RJD and assured that
senior RJD leaders would not visit those constituencies to
keep the morale of Congress workers up.
Asked whether the formula adopted by RJD in seat-sharing
would be applicable in Jharkhand which is also going to the
polls, Singh said it was applicable to the entire country.
The RJD leader said his party was the single largest
with 13 MLAs in the opposition in Jharkhand and they should be
given their "due" share.
To a question whether RJD would support JMM leader Shibu
Soren as the Chief Minister, Singh said this would be decided
by all the alliance partners.
He, however, made it clear that RJD would not stake
claim for the Chief Minister's post. "If Congress agrees to
support Soren as Chief Minister, RJD will have no
objection," he said.
Bureau Report
