BJP set to contest 17 seats and JD(U) 16. LJP (Ram Vilas) will contest five seats and Hindustani Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Morcha will fight one seat each…reports Asian Lite News
The ruling National Democractic Alliance has reached seat-sharing agreement in Bihar for the Lok Sabha polls with the BJP set to contest 17 seats and JD-U 16.
The seat-sharing agreement was announced by BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde on Monday. He said LJP (Ram Vilas) will contest five seats and Hindustani Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Morcha will fight one seat each.
“The NDA alliance will fight the polls collectively. We will put our full force on all 40 seats in the state. We will win on all the 40 seats. It is my belief,” he said.
The BJP has got one seat more than the JD-U, according to the seat arrangement.
He said the BJP will field candidates in Pashchim Champaran, Purvi Champaran, Aurangabad, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Maharajganj, Saran, Begusarai, Nawada, Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Aara, Buxar, and Sasaram.
Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will contest Vaishali, Hajipur, Samastipur, Khagaria and Jamui. Hindustani Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Morcha on Gaya and Karakat seats respectively.
Bihar will see polling in seven phases. The first phase of polling will be held on April 19, the second phase on April 26, the third phase on May 7, the fourth phase on May 13, the fifth phase on May 20, the sixth phase on May 25, and the seventh phase on June 1.
The Election Commission on Saturday announced the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The polling will be conducted in seven phases across the nation from April 19 to June 1. Votes will be counted on June 4.
LJP chief thanks PM
LJP national president Chirag Paswan said on Monday that he would like to thank PM Narendra Modi for the way he gave respect to their party.
“I would like to thank PM Modi for the way he gave respect to our party. Thanks to all the friends in the NDA, the ease with which the seat-sharing has been done and the sacrifices every party has made to strengthen the alliance is commendable,” said Chirag Paswan.
Hailing PM Modi, he said that his party will work together to achieve the vision of PM Modi to win all 40 seats in the state of Bihar.
He further said, “LJP will contest in Jamui, Hajipur, Khagaria, Samastipur and Vaishali.”
Remembering his late father Ram Vilas Paswan, he said, “When my father passed away, the responsibility was on my uncle (Pashupati Kumar Paras) to hold the party and family together, and my father wherever he is today must have been sad to see that the party and the symbol that he had chosen is still under the freeze.”
Meanwhile, Bihar deputy CM Samrat Choudhary says, “Everyone will contest the elections unitedly. We have finalised the seats, and now the list of candidates will also be declared soon.”
‘CAA not to be implemented in Bihar’
Deviating from the official line of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Janata Dal (United) leader Khalid Anwar said the law, guaranteeing permanent residency to members of persecuted religious minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, will not be implemented in Bihar.
The remark assumes significance as the JD(U) partners with the BJP and other allies in the ruling NDA coalition in the state.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Anwar claimed that JD(U) chief and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ruled out the implementation of the CAA in Bihar.
“The CAA will not be implemented in Bihar. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has already made it clear that all 13 crore residents in the state are Biharis and there is no need for the CAA, NRC (National Register of Citizens) or NPR (National Population Register) here. As long as Nitish-ji remains in power, no one needs to worry about the CAA,” Anwar told reporters at a press conference in Motihari on Sunday.
Amid the Opposition furore over the notification of rules for the implementation of the CAA last week, the JD(U) leader sought to dispel fears of loss of citizenship, saying that the law merely intended to give permanent residentship to religious minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who are living in the country as refugees, and not take away anyone’s citizenship.
“Those instilling fear among people that their citizenship will be taken away are spreading falsehoods,” he added.
Supporting his argument that there was no need for the CAA to be rolled out in Bihar, the minority leader said the previous Nitish Kumar-led government passed a resolution in the Assembly that neither the NRC nor the NPR would be implemented in the state.
“I would like to reiterate that as long as Nitish Kumar is in power, no one from Bihar, irrespective of their religion, will be deprived of their citizenship. During the previous government, we passed a resolution in the Assembly that there is no need for NPR or NRC in Bihar and such laws will not be implemented here,” Anwar said. (ANI)
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