India News | Congress Seeks to Contest from over 10 LS Seats in Bihar

Patna, Mar 16 (PTI) Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh on Saturday said the party would like to contest "more than 10" Lok Sabha seats in the state.

He also welcomed "disgruntled" NDA allies like Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras to the Congress if they chose to switch sides.

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Talking to reporters, Singh said, "The Congress' state election committee in its meeting on Saturday authorised our central leadership to decide the seat-sharing formula with partners of the Mahagathbandhan. In the last Lok Sabha polls, the Congress had contested from 10 seats. This time we would definitely like to contest more than that."

He, however, made it clear that the final decision in this regard would be taken by the central leadership.

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Asked about the reported indication that Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras might walk out of the ruling NDA, if his faction of the LJP does not get due respect in seat-sharing, Singh said, "We will welcome him, if they (Paras's party) chose to switch sides".

Paras on Friday accused the BJP of not doing justice to his LJP faction and hinted that he may leave the NDA.

He asserted that he is free to go anywhere and "doors are open".

His disappointment followed days after the BJP struck a seat-sharing deal with his nephew Chirag Paswan, who heads another faction of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), ignoring Paras' claim over several Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, including Hajipur.

The Lok Janshakti Party, which was led by Ram Vilas Paswan, split into two after his demise in 2020. His brother Paras leads the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) and his son Chirag Paswan the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), both part of the BJP-led NDA.

Meanwhile, another alliance partner of the Mahagathbandhan, CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, on Saturday said that seating-sharing issues must be resolved at the earliest in the state.

"Now, dates for the Lok Sabha polls have been announced, therefore, the seat-sharing issue must be resolved at the earliest by the alliance partners of the Mahagathbandhan", said Kumar Parvez, Media in charge of the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation's Bihar unit.

The elections to the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar will be held in seven phases on April 19, 26, May 7, 13, 20, 25 and June 1, the Election Commission said on Saturday.

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