Congress-RJD Spar Over Rajya Sabha Seat

Patna: The Congress party sought to remind its alliance partner Rashtriya Janta Dal RJD of its promise to back the grand old party in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. Bihar Congress in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil released a letter written by his party to RJD to the media.

Gohil reminded the RJD that its chief Tejashwi Yadav had at a media conference during Lok Sabha polls, committed to giving up one of its Rajya Sabha seats. The Congress now wants the RJD to honour its promise and give up its claim on one of the two seats to the Upper House which the alliance partner can win on its own.

The RJD, on its part, claims that it had never made any such commitment to the Congress. The party, while denying having made any such promise, however left the final decision to its supremo, Lalu Yadav. As things stand in Bihar, Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United (JDU) and Lalu Yadav's RJD can win two seats each, while the BJP can lay claim to one seat.

The Congress hopes to boost its tally in the Upper House with elections to 55 seats set to take place on March 26. Rajya Sabha has a total strength of 245, and while the BJP has 82, the Congress has 46 seats. The grand old party will gain in states where it is in power—Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Maharashtra. However, it stands to lose seats in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Meghalaya and Assam.