This Article is From Aug 01, 2014

BJP to Contest Nine Seats in Bihar Bypolls, Leaves One for LJP

Patna: The BJP-led NDA on Thursday announced seat-sharing for ten Assembly bye-elections in Bihar where the party will contest nine seats, leaving one for its ally Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party or LJP.

The BJP has left Parbatta Assembly seat in Khagaria district for the LJP and announced its candidates for nine seats which would go to the polls on August 21.

Rashtriya Lok Samata Party of Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha, an ally of the BJP, drew a blank.

The JD(U), the RJD and the Congress yesterday officially announced their alliance and seat-sharing arrangements as part of which JD(U) and RJD would contest four seats each while Congress got two seats.

According to the list for Bihar made available by the party office in Patna, Rashmi Verma will contest from Narkatiaganj, Rampreet Paswan (Rajnagar, SC), Ramnivas Prasad (Jale), Kanhaiya Singh (Chapra), Avdhesh Kumar (Hajipur), Rajesh Singh (Mohiuddinnagar), Nabhay Choudhary (Bhagalpur), Ramnarayan Mandal (Banka) and Niranjan Ram (Mohania, SC).

The BJP scored an ace against rival JD(U) by giving a ticket to Rashmi Verma, kin of the country's first President Dr Rajendra Prasad, from Narkatiaganj in West Champaran district.

Ms Verma had joined the JD(U) a month ago hoping to contest on a party ticket, but the seat went to the Congress.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who returned to Patna on Thursday from Delhi, dismissed the JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance.

"Whosoever will ride on the boat of Lalu Prasad is sure to sink," Sushil Modi told PTI criticising Nitish Kumar.

"The three had a tacit understanding in the recent Lok Sabha elections too and were thoroughly rejected by the people... they will meet same fate again in the bye-election," he added.
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