BJP, JD(U) may contest on 17 seats each

The BJP and the JD(U) might contest 17 seats each in Bihar in the Lok Sabha elections, with allies the Lok Janshakti Party and the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party fighting on four and two seats respectively, sources said Wednesday.

They said talks with the Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan-led LJP and the Union minister Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP were still on to seal a seat-sharing arrangement.

If the LJP, which had contested seven seats in 2014 and won six, agrees to the formula, then one of its leaders may be elected to the Rajya Sabha with the BJP's support, the sources said.

There is speculation that Paswan might not contest the Lok Sabha polls due to health reasons and may be brought to the Upper House. In such a scenario, his MP son Chirag Paswan will fight from his father's pocket borough of Hajipur, they added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), LJP and RLSP had contested 30, seven and three seats of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in 2014 and won 22, six and three of them respectively.

However, the entry of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) into the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) last year meant that a new arrangement is being worked out for the Lok Sabha polls due in 2019.

Shah had announced last week that the BJP and JD(U) will fight on equal number of seats in the state.