NCP will remain in grand alliance, say JD-U, RJD

A day after rumblings of discontent in the NCP over seat-sharing, Bihar's ruling JD-U and its ally RJD on Thursday said that Sharad Pawar's party will remain part of the grand alliance to take on the BJP-led NDA in the coming state assembly elections.

Leaders of both the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) said that the issue would be sorted out soon.

Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Tariq Anwar, party MP from Katihar in Bihar, on Wednesday expressed displeasure after his party was given only three of the 243 assembly seats to contest and threatened that the NCP may go it alone.

"The NCP is a part of our alliance and will be a part. We will talk to the NCP leaders to redress their grievances," JD-U spokesperson Ajay Alok said.

Alok is considered close to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He said the JD-U was in favour of talks with NCP leaders over the issue of seat sharing.

"There is no question of the NCP pulling out of the grand alliance," he said.

RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav too said Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar will talk to NCP leaders, including Tariq Anwar, on the issue. "The NCP will be part of our alliance in the coming polls," Shakti Yadav said.

When Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar and senior Congress leader C.P. Joshi on Wednesday announced the seat-sharing formula among the parties in the grand alliance, no leader of the NCP was present at the joint press meet here.

According to NCP leaders here, party leaders and workers have expressed strong reservation over allotment of only three seats to the party.

"We have informed top NCP leaders, including Tariq Anwar, about the anger among the party leaders and workers over only three seats given to us to contest," an NCP leader said.

Another NCP leader questioned Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad that a consensus had been reached over seat-sharing which, he said, was far from the truth.