The Janata Dal (United) leader said all parties in Bihar supported the demand for a special category status for the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party will submit a proposal for the sharing of seats with its alliance partners in Bihar for the 2019 General Elections in “three to four weeks”, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday. Kumar made the statement at a press meet when asked about his meeting with BJP National President Amit Shah on July 12, Live Hindustan reported.
“Nothing has been done on it [yet]…there will be one-to-one talk with the BJP on this issue,” the Janata Dal (United) leader said, according to The Hindu.
On July 9, Kumar had said he was in no hurry to decide on the sharing of seats between the two parties, and the matter will be “sorted out in due course”. There has been speculation in the last few weeks about the Janata Dal (United) wanting a larger share of seats but Kumar has denied the reports and blamed it on leaders making statements out of turn.
On Sunday, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief Upendra Kushwaha said that “unless all alliance party leaders would not sit together, the seat sharing among NDA will not be done”. Kushwaha’s party is also a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
Special category status
In his press meet, the chief minister also said that all parties in Bihar supported the demand for a special category status for the state. Kumar said the demand will be reiterated at an all-party meeting.
“We have been demanding special status for Bihar since 2006,” Kumar said. “The report of 14th Finance Commission indicated that special status is not required, so we are pursuing the matter and will put it forward before the 15th Finance Commission.”
source: Scroll.in
