Bihar: Congress awaits Lalu Yadav’s nod to finalise candidates for LS polls

BPCC chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who held two rounds of meetings with the RJD chief, said the seat-sharing talks with RJD was going well and it will be declared in a couple of days

Bihar state Congress is waiting for Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s approval to declare the seats to be contested in the state in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls beginning April 19, said a senior leader of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) on Friday.

RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said seat-sharing talks is almost final. (File photo)

BPCC chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who held two rounds of meetings with the RJD chief after arriving from New Delhi on Thursday, said the seat-sharing talks with RJD was going well and it will be declared in a couple of days.

“Everything in distribution of seats is going fine. The alliance is firm and final agreement of seats will be declared in the next couple of days,” said Singh.

RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said seat-sharing talks is almost final.

“The Congress has been allocated more than five seats. The Congress is asking for a few more seats and Lalu Prasad is dealing with the issues,” said Yadav.

The RJD has already finalised the seats to be contested by party nominees and distributed symbols.

A senior RJD leader said that Kumar Sarvajit, Abhay Kushwaha, Shravan Kushwaha, Archana Ravidas and former Rajya Sabha member Ahmad Ashfaque Karim have been allotted symbols from Gaya, Nawada, Aurangabad, Jamui and Katihar.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) had reportedly handed over the list of ten seats to the RJD chief on which the Congress was preparing to fight.

The seats include Aurangabad, Nawada, Sasaram, Purnia, Katihar, Kishanganj, Bettiah, Samastipur, Supaul and Motihari.

Instead, the RJD is learnt to have been allocated six seats, including Purnia, Kishanganj, Patna Saheb, Bettiah, Muzaffarpur and Valmiki Nagar.

AICC in-charge for Bihar Mohan Prakash said, “They were looking into the issues that cropped up after distribution of symbols by the RJD.”