Fourth Front leads in 33 seats

'Fourth Front' constituents, who fought independently despite being in the UPA, were leading in 33 Lok Sabha constituencies, as per trends available from all the 543 seats till mid-day.  

The trends showed reverses for the Fourth Front parties -- SP, RJD and LJP — at 31 places, the bulk being from Bihar, where RJD had won 22 of the 40 seats last time.  This time RJD was leading at six seats, including the two - Saran and Pataliputra - contested by RJD chief Lalu Prasad.  

RJD had contested 26 of the 40 seats in Bihar in 2004 in alliance with Congress and won 22. This time it is contesting 28 seats in alliance with LJP and SP. 

Congress is going it alone at 37 places in Bihar.  

In neighbouring Jharkhand, RJD had won two of the 14 seats in 2004 and this time it is trying its luck at six places in that state.  LJP headed by Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan was trailing in all the 12 seats it was contesting in Bihar. Pasawn himself was trailing in Hajipur. The party had contested eight seats last time and won four.  

Paswan had won the seat by a margin of 4,24,000 in 1977 which sent him to the Guinness Book of World Records. He represented the seat eight times — 1997, 1980, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004.