LJP may contest 37 seats in Jharkhand

PATNA: LJP national president Chirag Paswan on Sunday hinted at contesting 37 seats in the ensuing Jharkhand assembly elections if seat-sharing with the ruling BJP top leadership did not materialize in a day or two.
Chirag arrived in Patna from New Delhi on Sunday after being elected the LJP's national president early this week. Talking to newsmen at the Patna airport, Chirag said talks were on with the central as well as the Jharkhand state leadership of the BJP on sharing of seats in Jharkhand polls.
Reliable sources said the LJP has demanded six seats while the BJP is in favour of allocating only three seats to its NDA ally under the seat-sharing formula.
Chirag, however, said LJP Jharkhand unit functionaries were in favour of contesting the assembly poll on its own.
"Since we are part of the NDA both at the Centre and in Bihar, the LJP will try to follow the coalition formula in Jharkhand assembly election as well. If things don't move on the expected lines, the party will decide the next course of action in a day or two," he told reporters. Chirag said he has already conveyed the LJP's demand to the Union minister and senior BJP leader Amit Sah and BJP's Jharkhand election incharge Om Prakash Mathur. "I hope the picture will be clear on the issue by Monday," Chirag said, adding the party's Jharkhand unit leaders were willing to contest 37 seats.