Laloo aims to strengthen secular allies in Bihar

Finally, Bihar strongman Laloo Prasad Yadav is aiming at consolidating "secular votes" in the tough battle for Bihar's 40 crucial parliamentary seats.

Finally, Bihar strongman Laloo Prasad Yadav is aiming at consolidating "secular votes" in the tough battle for Bihar's 40 crucial parliamentary seats.

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For days, Laloo Yadav has given sleepless nights to the Congress, Ram Vilas Paswan and the two communist parties, rejecting their claims for seats in Bihar, where the former chief minister remains a formidable force.

Sources in Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) said he had left for New Delhi with Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechuri, who urged him to speed up the process of seat sharing in Bihar.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is also looking forward to meeting Laloo Yadav.

In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Paswan was with the Bharatiya Janata Party, while the Communist Party of India (CPI) also put up candidates against the RJD.

In the process, the RJD was badly mauled and ended up winning just six of Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP won 12 seats and the Janata Dal (United) 18.

"This time the secular allies want to minimize the risk of contesting against each other," said an RJD leader.

But the source said Laloo Yadav had decided to give away only 15 seats to his allies and contest the remaining 25.

It's a different matter that the Congress alone is demanding 15 seats.