Monday, January 24 2005 15:07 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: Having failed to clinch a complete seat sharing accord, the constituents of the Centre's ruling UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Congress, RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) will be seen crossing swords in 57 of the 64 seats going to polls in the first phase of the three-phase poll in Bihar on Feb 3, 2005.

Among the 834 contestants who have thrown their hat into the ring for the 64 seats, are 58 candidates of Laloo Prasad's RJD who, apart from facing tough challenge from the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) nominees, are up against their "friends" in the Centre's ruling alliance (the UPA) Congress and Ramvilas Paswan's LJP.

While RJD has no alliance with the LJP, the latter has hammered out a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress as part of which it is contesting 46 seats, leaving 18 for the Congress.

The RJD has spared just the Kahalgaon seat held by Speaker Sadanand Singh going to poll in the first phase and in 17 places its candidates are face-to-face with those of the Congress.

These are seats where RJD candidates had not emerged victorious in the last Assembly polls.

However, political observers feel this would indirectly help the RJD nominee, as anti-Laloo votes would be divided.

While fielding 58 candidates in the first phase, the RJD has spared three seats for the CPI (Communist Party of India), two for CPM (Communist Party of India-Marxist) and one for the Congress.