New Delhi--Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was named president of the proposed unified party of Janata Parivar constituents, has asked JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar and RJD’s Lalu Prasad to reach a consensus on the list of candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections. He also asked them to refer all disputes over naming candidates to him.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad had barely got down to the task of drafting a common list here on April 25, when they had to abandon it following an earthquake in Nepal. They soon will be back to the drawing board.
When asked what was the formula for distribution of tickets, a source said, “An individual’s prospects of victory.” Another source said: “We would focus only on the merits of the candidates…We want winning candidates without JD(U) or RJD tags.”
The sources said JD(U) had initially proposed that the 2010 Assembly poll outcome should be the basis for sharing seats — Nitish’s party had won 115 of the 243 seats in Bihar, while RJD managed only 22 seats in the last state elections.
The RJD, however, suggested that the 2014 Lok Sabha poll performance should be the basis of ticket distribution. While JD(U) managed to win only 2 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, RJD had emerged victorious on four and came second in most other constituencies.
A third proposition was also mooted — 100 seats each for both JD(U) and RJD and the rest 43 for Congress, Left parties and other partners.
Mulayam, according to the sources, rejected the suggestions for fixing any quota, apprehending any such move would lead to a turf war between the two Bihar satraps.
Indian Express
