Bihar polls: RJD releases list of 51 nominees
The RJD released its list of 51 candidates for the first phase of Bihar assembly polls for October 18.
The RJD on Friday released its list of 51 candidates for the first phase of Bihar assembly polls for October 18 and, in a strategic move, left the Nalanda seat for Forward Bloc, an ally of Ramvilas Paswan's LJP, to defeat the NDA candidate.
RJD President Lalu Prasad announced the list which included seven Muslims and two women.
When asked why RJD left Nalanda seat for Forward Bloc's Ram Naresh Singh when that party was having a tie-up with his bete noire Paswan's party, Lalu quipped "we decided to allot the seat to Forward Bloc as the party does not not have any existence in Bihar and we want to accommodate all parties".
Paswan had recently said as per the seat-sharing accord between LJP and its allies, Forward Bloc had been allotted three seats.
Lalu, however, privately admitted the seat was spare for Ram Naresh Singh, the Forward Bloc candidate, in a bid to ensure the defeat of JD (U)'s Shravan Kumar. Kumar, chief Whip of JD (U) in the 12th Lok Sabha, is considered very closed to NDA's Chief Ministerial candidate Nitish Kumar. Ram Naresh Singh had won the Nalanda seat twice in the past.