JD-U, BJP announce seat deal

After four days of talks, the NDA today announced its seat-sharing arrangement for the Bihar and Jharkhand elections. Janata Dal (U) will contest 138 seats and BJP 105 in the coming elections to the 243-member Bihar Assembly, while in Jharkhand BJP will fight on 63 seats and JD(U) on 17, the latter’s leader and former Union minister Nitish Kumar informed.

Even at this stage, Nitish said, the door was open for the Lok Janshakti Party. ‘‘It’s not all over. Our doors are still open for an alliance with the LJP. We have even offered Paswan the leadership. He has to take the decision now,’’ said Nitish at a joint briefing held with the BJP. ‘‘We have done our bit and tried to get together all those who want to remove the RJD-led government. We can’t stop our work for them,’’ he added. When asked if he would campaign against the LJP, Nitish said the NDA would only campaign against the RJD and its leader Laloo Prasad Yadav.

The former Union minister also put to rest all speculation about JD(U) parting ways with the BJP. ‘‘The BJP-JD(U) association is a very old one,’’ he said. The alliance is not projecting a chief ministerial candidate in either of the states so far. BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said the two parties had reached a seat-sharing agreement with ‘‘great ease’’. ‘‘When it is time for a chief ministerial candidate, we will agree with the same ease,’’ said Jaitley. Nitish, meanwhile, added he was not for the post. On the manifesto issue, he said both JD(U) and BJP would have separate manifestos for the polls but if they formed a government they would come out with a common programme.

Paswan has been in favour of an alliance with the JD (U) subject to it severing ties with BJP whereas the latter has been insisting on his resignation from the UPA Government.