The Janata Parivar constituents — the RJD and the JD(U) — who are up for a probable merger prior to the Assembly election due in October, seem not very sure of a perfect alliance either, or so it seems if the recent utterances by some senior leaders are to be believed.
RJD vice-president and former Union Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh triggered a controversy on Friday when he said that of the 243 Assembly seats the RJD would have stake on 145 seats.
Rejecting the JD(U) claim over its 115 sitting seats, Singh said, “In 2010 Assembly election the JD(U) was part of the NDA and the party had shared seats with the BJP. But an evaluation of the results of last year’s general elections reveals that the RJD finished either first or second in 145 Assembly segments while the JD(U) was left with 43.”
Political sources said no development could be made on seat-sharing because of RJD’s rigid stand when the party’s top leaders held talks with the JD(U) in presence of Mulayam Singh Yadav earlier. The merger plan was also put on hold.
Singh’s claim has not been disputed by party supreme lalu Prasad nor any other functionary. The former Union Minister has been against the merger and had previously advocated against the alliance with the JD(U) also.
lalu, who held meeting with party legislators on Thursday evening, did not say anything publicly on seat-sharing. He just said that he was keen for the merger but due to some issues his party would eventually go for an alliance with the JD(U).
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took the statement of Singh with a pinch of salt and said all the 243 seats are at the disposal of Singh, why only 145IJ However, on seat-sharing in the 24 legislative Council seats which will be filled from local bodies within mid-July, Nitish said talks were on with the RJD and the Congress. Bihar JD(U) president Bashistha Narain Singh would resume the talks on his return from Delhi. He con ceded that the CPI, with which his party had initiated talks for an alliance, has preferred to go with the left parties’ conglomerate in the council election.
lalu, during the meeting with his legislators, appeared very happy with the Nitish Government. He said the State Government should challenge the Patna High Court’s verdict quashing the reservation in promotion for the SC and ST in the Supreme Court and was of the view that compensation of `4 lakh to the kin of those killed in the earthquake should have been `10 lakh.
Replying to lalu’s criticism, Nitish said his Government has decided to move the Division Bench of the High Court since the judgment had been delivered by a single Bench. “The quota in promotion was my Government’s decision in the wake of the recommendation of a Supreme Court constituted Expert Committee. We are seeking legal opinion on this issue,” said the CM.