Congress-JMM alliance splits in Jharkhand

NEW DELHI: In fresh trouble for the UPA, the JMM has severed its seat-sharing pact with Congress in Jharkhand and vowed to contest all 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state, Times Now reported late on Friday. JMM leader Durga Soren said, “Congress has betrayed us.”

According to the arrangement announced two days ago, off the 14 seats in the state, Congress was to contest seven and JMM five. ``We have finalised the seat-sharing agreement. Congress will contest seven and JMM 5. We have left two seats for RJD,'' AICC in-charge for Jharkhand K Keshava Rao told reporters on Wednesday, emphasising that RJD was not taken into confidence.

Earlier today, a delegation of RJD leaders met party chief Lalu Prasad to demand that the party contest at least five seats instead of the two left for it in the tribal state under the seat-sharing agreement between JMM and Congress, PTI reported.

While RJD declared it would contest "minimum four" seats, Ram Vilas Paswan-led LJP has announced to contest "at least six" of the total 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand.

"Our party chief Lalu Prasad has told us that RJD will contest minimum four seats in Jharkhand," state RJD president Gautam Sagar Rana told reporters after an hour long meeting of state leaders with the part supremo here.

In Bihar, Congress has now decided to contest a minimum of 30 seats but would not put up candidates in three constituencies, two being contested by Lalu Prasad and Hajipur seat of Ram Vilas Paswan, party sources said.

Incidentally the two parties had left only three seats for the Congress under the seat sharing agreement announced by them unilaterally.

Union Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said that the central election committee tonight deliberated on Bihar. Party sources said that the Congress could contest as many as 37 seats.

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Whole of Indian Media seems to be supporting UPA

It seems whole of Indian English Media are supporting UPA in this election. Few of the head lines or news reporting seem to suggest that. For example, when BJP and BJD parted ways in Orissa, everybody shouted it to be deathblow to NDA and same thing happened with with UPA in Bihar with its most staunchest allies like RJD, but people are breaking news as Lalu saying RJD being part UPA still!

But all these English Media were proved wrong in Gujarat and seems this LS will also repeat the same! Just my biased thinking!

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Congress to contest 37 seats in Bihar

NEW DELHI: With the UPA alliance in Bihar virtually collapsing, Congress on Saturday announced that it will contest 37 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats and leave only three for the RJD and LJP.

"We have decided to contest on 37 seats in Bihar. We want to leave three seats, two on which Lalu Prasad would contest and one on which Ram Vilas Paswan would contest," senior Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters here.

RJD and LJP had left only three seats for the Congress under the seat sharing agreement announced by them unilaterally.

Shinde, who is chairman of the screening committee on Bihar said he would be "sending a list of names (seats) to the Central Election Committee for approval".

The Congress leader claimed that the party workers were "very agitated and their dissatisfaction was at such a level that it getting difficult to convince them."

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