'Jharkhand pact was based on parties' strength'

Q&A: K Keshava RAO, Congress GS, Jharkhand

K Keshava Rao, Congress general secretary in charge of Jharkhand, defends the party’s decision to cut its United Progressive Alliance (UPA) partner Lalu Prasad out of the deal in Jharkhand, which sends 14 seats to the Lok Sabha

Is this a tit for tat to Lalu Prasad?
I don’t use the word tit for tat. It’s too much of a cliché.

Did you talk to Prasad before sealing this seat-sharing arrangement with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)?
I didn’t talk to him. I last spoke to him during the last session of Parliament. But I am sure other leaders were talking to him.

You have completely denied tickets to Ramvilas Paswan’s LJP.
We have decided on the seats on the basis of the strength of various parties. The LJP doesn’t have the strength in Jharkhand to win Lok Sabha seats.

It seems the UPA is shattered in Jharkhand and Bihar.
Not at all. On the contrary, it will be strengthened in Jharkhand. And other parties too should come to strengthen secularism.

But you are not giving them tickets…
Friendship and alliance should not be linked directly to distribution of tickets. There are 12 sitting UPA MPs in the state (Jharkhand). We have distributed these 12 seats accordingly between the parties. Only two seats were left. The Congress and JMM have decided to contest one seat each. The UPA cannot be taken for granted.

Are you ready to renegotiate or the seat deal is final?
In politics, nothing is final. If Lalu Prasad wants, the top leadership of the party will decide if there can be a renegotiation.