NCP to decide on staying in secular alliance: Nitish

NCP's Sharad Pawar had issued an ultimatum to grand secular alliance in Bihar to reconsider seat distribution by Aug 20

With the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Samajwadi Party leaders agitating alleging neglect in the grand secular alliance for coming Bihar election, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said seats had already been distributed among allies and there was no need to revise it.

"We have left three seats for the NCP and instead of us they would have to decide whether they want to be in the grand secular alliance or not," Kumar told reporters here.

Kumar's statement followed the Sharad Pawar party issuing an ultimatum to grand secular alliance in Bihar to reconsider seat distribution by August 20, saying it will not settle for less than 12 seats in the Assembly elections or else all options are open for it.

Kumar, who has already been declared as chief ministerial candidate of the alliance, made light of the NCP protest and dharna by a section of Samajwadi Party saying "if everything becomes smooth, media would have nothing to write."

JD(U), RJD and Congress have come together and reached a decision on seat sharing recently as per which the first two would contest for 100 seats each and Congress for 40, leaving 3 seats for NCP in the 243-member House.

He said August-30 rally of the secular alliance at Patna would be very important.

Though refusing to confirm media reports about chance of SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee making to August 30 rally, he said "we are discussing it and media would be informed about it in time."

He, however, confirmed attending a programme with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at Delhi on August 19.

"An invitation has come from Kejriwal for the Bihar Samman Samaroh at Delhi on August 19 which I have accepted," he said.

Kumar and Kejriwal have met each other quite a number of times and praised each other.

In reply to a question that the BJP has shifted date of its rally by a day at Bhagalpur to September one to avoid coinciding its earlier date on August 30 with their rally, Kumar said "they have changed the date five times...But rally of some other party is not our subject."

To a question on AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi programme at Kisanganj yesterday with an aim to make inroads among muslims particularly in the Seemanchal areas of Kisanganj, Katihar, Araria and Purnea, Kumar trashed it and said "during election time many persons come and put their point of views...I need not give a counter bite to media on everybody assertions.