Seat-sharing pact with Cong clinched: LJP

The Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party on Saturday claimed it had reached a seat-sharing agreement with the Congress for the Bihar Assembly polls scheduled for February three.

The agreement was reached during talks between senior Congress leaders and party president Ramvilas Paswan, LJP in-charge of Bihar affairs and Lok Sabha member of Parliament Ramchandra Paswan said in Patna while releasing the first list of 56 candidates for the first phase of the polls.

However, there was no official word from the Congress about the accord.

Ramchandra Paswan, brother of Ramvilas Paswan, said the LJP president had agreed to 'fulfil' the demands of the Congress. If the Congress candidate in a particular seat had more chances of winning than the LJP candidate, the party would even remove its nominee, he said.

The Congress had on Friday announced the first list of 17 candidates, which included the name of Assembly Speaker Sadanand Singh (Kahalgaon) and Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramjatan Sinha (Warsaliganj).

Ramchandra Paswan and other LJP leaders said the party had decided not to field a candidate against Sadanand Singh.

Reacting to the LJP claim, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said no tie-up had been finalised between the Congress and the LJP.

"LJP's false claims that it has sewn up a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress proves that it is out to mislead the secular forces to benefit the communal and fascist elements represented by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (United)," Yadav told PTI.

Stating that it was apparent from the list of candidates released by the LJP that the party had spared no seats for the Congress, he said it had even fielded candidates in all the 17 seats for which the Congress had declared its candidates on Friday night.