Opposition's grand alliance turning out to be illusion: Chirag Paswan

Patna, Mar 18: LJP leader Chirag Paswan Monday said all NDA allies in Bihar may name their Lok Sabha poll candidates together and also took a dig at the opposition, saying its "so-called grand alliance has turned out to be an illusion".

He told reporters after a meeting of his party's parliamentary board that the Lok Janshakti Party has finalised its candidates for the six seats it will contest in Bihar, but withheld announcing their names due Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's death.

Asserting that a joint announcement by all the National Democratic Alliance parties - the BJP, Janata Dal (United) and the LJP - on the seats they will fight in alliance have sent out a positive message, Paswan said they may also name their candidates together, but added that a final call on this is yet to be taken.

While Paswan is set to contest from Jamui, the seat he represents in the Lok Sabha, Ram Chandra Paswan will be fielded from Samastipur, which he had won in 2014.

With the party supremo and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan not contesting the Lok Sabha election this time, his brother Pashupati Kumar Paras may contest from his pocket borough of Hajipur.

Party sources said its MP from Munger, Veena Devi, is likely to be fielded from Nawada and Bina Singh, whose husband Dinesh Singh is a JD(U) MLC, may contest from Vaishali.

Asked about Union minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh's "unhappiness" over being denied renomination from the Nawada seat, from where he had won in 2014, Paswan said he will speak to Singh to resolve the matter.

Singh is likely to be fielded from Begusarai as Nawada was allocated to the LJP.

Chirag Paswan said the ruling alliance has divided seats among its partners amicably, but the grand alliance of opposition parties has not been able to decide on the number of seats each of them will contest.

"The so-called grand alliance has turned out to be an illusion," he said, asserting that the NDA under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership will win more than 350 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, JD(U) and the LJP have announced they will fight 17, 17 and six seats respectively in Bihar. They have also divided among themselves the seats each of them will contest.

PTI