Preparing to contest all 243 seats in Bihar, says LJP-RV MP Arun Bharti on state polls

Patna, Aug 30 (IANS) Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) MP Arun Bharti, on Saturday at a press conference in Patna, claimed his party is preparing to contest all 243 seats in the upcoming Bihar Assembly election.

However, he also said that the final decision will depend on a consensus within the NDA.

"There should be a respectable agreement between the five constituent parties in the NDA. If there is no equality, it will not be right for the alliance," he said, rejecting fake news reports that LJP-RV was limiting itself to just 20 seats.

Bharti also reiterated his stance from Friday that the party expects to contest between 43 to 137 seats, terming such a range "respectable" for LJP-RV.

He announced the next phase of their 'Nav Sankalp Mahasabha', a statewide outreach programme of his party.

Bharti, in the presence of State party President Raju Tiwari, said that the Mahasabha, which began in Arrah, will now be held in Muzaffarpur on September 4 at 11 a.m., where LJP-RV Chief Chirag Paswan will address the people and outline his vision of "Bihar First, Bihari First" and a roadmap for a developed Bihar.

Taking aim at the Opposition's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', Bharti alleged it has been reduced to a "personal programme" of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav.

He condemned the use of derogatory language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding that Tejashwi Yadav's statements reminded people of the Jungle Raj era, when threats of shooting and bombing were commonplace.

"The Opposition is only trying to mislead the people of Bihar. But the public will not allow the old situation to return," Bharti asserted.

With the Mahasabha in Muzaffarpur and the party's hard bargaining over seat-sharing, all eyes will be on how Chirag Paswan positions LJP-RV within the NDA ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

--IANS

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