Bihar elections: JDU looks to contest 115 seats, wants BJP to fight 128, accommodate LJP

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At present, JD(U) has 71 MLAs and BJP has 53 legislators. In the 2010 Assembly elections, the JD(U) and BJP had contested on 141 and 102 seats, respectively.

A BJP leader said: “Seat-sharing talks have been going in Delhi between top leaders of BJP and JD(U). It is difficult to say anything now about the numbers of seats. By conventional logic, we should contest as equal partners as we did in the last Lok Sabha polls. Our party had shown a large heart during the Lok Sabha polls by denying tickets to five sitting MPs and giving JD(U) equal seats (17 each) to contest. It is now the JD(U)’s turn to return the favour.”

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He said the BJP’s central leadership had been also in touch with the LJP to resolve seat-sharing issues.

Admitting to hitches over some seats between the BJP and JD(U), the leader said: “We want some of their sitting seats and JD(U) wants some of ours. A lot also depends on the number of seats RJD will contest. The seat-sharing could be announced sometime in October.”