Upendra Kushwaha's statement has no value, says BJP

Patna, Jan 11 (IANS) A day after JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha claimed to contest the MLC elections for 24 seats in Bihar in a ratio of 50:50, Deputy CM Tar Kishore Prasad and state BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal claimed that they did not know Kushwaha, and hence wont react to his claims."We do not give any value to Upendra Kushwaha's statements. Our top leadership will set the formula for the MLC elections to 24 seats and contest them accordingly," said Prasad, the leader of BJP in the Bihar Assembly."I would not reply to a person or leader who is not authorised by his party. I am the state President of BJP and I can only reply to statements made by national or state presidents. The statement of Upendra Kushwaha has no value," Jaiswal said.On Monday, Kushwaha, the President of JD(U) Parliamentary board, had claimed to contest 12 MLC seats. He had also advocated for seat allocation to smaller alliance partners like HAM and VIP.In the 2020 Assembly elections, JD(U) had slight upper hand, contesting 122 out of 243 seats in the Vidhan Sabha, giving 7 seats to the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) from its quota. The BJP contested the remaining 121 seats and gave 11 seats to Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).Though the position of JD(U) changed post the election results, as it now has only 45 seats in the Assembly while the BJP has 74 seats."JD(U) under the 50:50 formula wants to contest 12 out of 24 MLC seats," Kushwaha said.
--IANS ajk/arm

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