IIT, IIM alumni to contest 40 Lok Sabha seats

LUCKNOW: The Bharatiya Punarnirman Dal (BPD) - a political outfit floated by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of
Management (IIM) alumni - will contest the Lok Sabha election from at least 40 seats across the country, a party leader said Saturday.

"We are all geared to contesting the election. Till now, we have only announced eight candidates," BPD national working committee member Omendra Bharat said over telephone from Kanpur.

Candidates have been named for four seats in Uttar Pradesh, two in Delhi and one each in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, said Bharat, a graduate from IIT-Kanpur.

Asked about the party's poll plank, Bharat said: "Growing terrorism and issues like education and jobs will be high on our agenda."

Formed in December 2006, BPD contested, without success, five seats in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in 2007. "We got 1.5-2 percent of the total votes," said Bharat.