Lalu cautions secular parties not to commit blunders

Patna, Mar 27 (UNI) RJD president and Rail Minister Lalu Prasad today branded Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), Rajya Sabha candidate Ranjan Prasad Yadav as BJP-sponsored candidate and warned other parties not to commit a ''historical blunder'' by supporting the BJP.

Mr Prasad told mediapersons here that the RJD and its allies have a combined strength of 65 votes and the second RJD candidate would need five votes more for victory.

He said the LJP candidate on the other hand had only 18 votes in his kitty, and had to depend on the BJP surplus votes for the victory.

The RJD president said, JD (U) had sufficient votes for the victory of its three candidates in the Rajya Sabha (RS) election, while the BJP would have surplus votes even after the lone BJP candidate wins in the RS election.

"The LJP, which claimed to maintain distance from the BJP, was trying to rope in the CPI and the CPI(ML) for the victory of a BJP-sponsored candidate," he alleged.

Mr Prasad addedd he was in touch with the BSP and other secular parties and he had a firm belief that both RJD Rajya Sabha candidates would romp to victory. He said those parties, which had announced to support the LJP candidate in the election, should reconsider their decision.

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