JD-U, RJD to fight Bihar legislative council polls together

Bihar's ruling JD-U and its ally RJD will contest 24 seats of the state legislative council together, overcoming some "technical problems" in the merger of the Janata Parivar parties.

"We have decided that JD-U and the RJD will contest 24 seats of the state legislative council together and will try to include other allies like the Congress and the CPI," Janata Dal-United (JD-U) state president Vashishth Narain Singh told the media here on Monday.

Singh was authorized by the party to talk with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other allies on seat sharing. He said a formal announcement will be made soon.

"It will be a mere formality," he said.

Singh also said it was certain that the JD-U and the RJD will contest the assembly polls, likely to be held in September-October this year, together.

RJD legislator Bhola Yadav has also said that both parties have agreed to contest together.

Yadav, who is considered close to RJD chief Lalu Prasad, said the RJD and the JD-U will contest 10 seats each and four seats will be given to other allies such as the Congress and the CPI.

Singh and Yadav's statements suggest that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad wanted an effective alliance against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) of union Minister Upendra Kushwaha.

In the caste driven politics of Bihar, the Janata Parivar of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad as well as the BJP are well aware that they have to work out calculative strategies to woo different castes.