BJP, JD(U) fail to decide on Bihar seats

In an indication of growing strain between the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) crucial partner the Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over seat sharing in Bihar, state leaders of both the parties today failed to resolve their differences in Patna.

While the JD (U) has been asking for the larger share in Bihar on account of the party's electoral performance in the past, the BJP state unit is reluctant to concede ground to it on the plea that the BJP's own growth would be stymied.

NDA convener and JD(U) leader George Fernandes has already made it clear that his party will put up candidates in 25 Lok Sabha seats, which included three seats given to Anand Mohan Singh in 1999 elections. A senior JD(U) leader said all these seats were given from the JD(U) quota.

What appears to have rattled the BJP is the prospect of playing second fiddle to the JD(U) in Bihar, which accounts for 40 Lok Sabha seats after the formation of Jharkhand as a separate state.

As of now, NDA convenor of Bihar and BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav has also asked for 25 seats for the BJP- a demand which is unacceptable to the JD(U).

Sources in the JD(U) said apart from Bihar, Fernandes was not happy with the BJP leadership's move to grab the central political place in Karnataka by pushing aside the JD(U).

Fernandes is learnt to be keen on developing Karnataka as yet another turf for the JD(U) to consolidate his political position in the post-poll scenario.

But the move by the BJP's state unit to rope in former Karnataka Chief Minister S Bangrappa is seen as a setback to Fernandes's plan.

That Fernandes had been showing interest in devloping a base in his home state was also guided by his discomfiture over relying too much on the party's Bihar-centric image.

Apparently, in Bihar's context both the parties have tried to play down the differences and maintained that they would fight unitedly against the RJD-Congress combine in the state.

In the next week, one of the BJP general secretaries is expected to take up the issue with the state leadership to resolve the problems, BJP sources say.