The seat adjustment talks among the secular front partners in Bihar has finally been finalised. The Congress, RJD, LJP, NCP and the CPI(M) will jointly fight the Lok Sabha elections in the state, RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav and Lok Janashakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan announced here today. As per the seat-sharing arrangement, the Congress will contest from four seats, the NCP and CPI(M) from one seat each and the LJP will get eight seats of the total 40 in the state. The RJD will field candidates in the remaining 26 seats. The CPI, which has already announced the names of five candidates in the state, is not part of the secular alliance in Bihar. ‘‘It is their misfortune, not ours, that they are not part of the alliance,’’ said Laloo. Paswan has managed to strike a good deal with the RJD, getting eight Lok Sabha seats and a Rajya Sabha seat for Narendra Singh, the LJP’s state unit president. The LJP will contest from Bagha, Hajipur, Rosera, Balia, Purnea, Saharsa, Araria and either Muzaffarpur or Nalanda. Ram Vilas Paswan will contest from Hajipur and his brother, Ram Chandra Paswan, from Rosera. The CPI(M) has got Bhagalpur, while the NCP’s Tariq Anwar will contest from Katihar. The Congress has got Madhubani, Aurangabad, Sasaram and Begu Sarai. None from the Congress was, however, present at the press conference. When asked about this, Laloo said: ‘‘I represent the Congress too.’’ Paswan said that his joining hands with the BJP was a ‘‘big mistake’’.
