Congress-RJD LS talks hits hurdle

Patna: With less than a month left for the General Elections, the grand alliance in Bihar faces a daunting task of resolving the thorny issue of seat-sharing among its allies.

Sources claim that Congress, which was earlier demanding around 15 seats to contest, may take some stern decisions if the issue is not resolved within this week.

Senior Congress leader Sadanand Singh, who is also a member of the recently constituted state election committee, said: “Our party’s base has increased under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and everyone is aware that Congress is not dependent on any other political party.”

Mr Singh also gave the example of Uttar Pradesh’s formula where Congress is likely to contest the Lok Sabha elections on its own after being dumped by SP and BSP. Mr Singh’s statement came a day after RJD authorised party president Lalu Yadav to consult other grand alliance partners who have been demanding sizable seat share for the Lok Sabha elections.

Sources said that the RJD leadership appeared worried after Congress’ statement on Tuesday.

RJD leader Shivanand Tiwary, in reaction to the statement, said that “Congress should decide against whom it wants to contest elections — BJP or those who have formed an alliance to defeat BJP.”

Sources said that a meeting is likely to be held later this week to build a consensus over the seat sharing issue among partners. Speculation is rife that a fresh formula has already been worked out and final announcement is expected before Friday.

As per the fresh formula, RJD may keep 18 and give 11 seats to Congress.