Thursday, April 7 2005 15:04 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: After Janata Dal United (JDU) leader Nitish Kumar's failed attempts, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan today (Apr 7, 2005) set in motion a process of consolation with like-minded parties for Government formation in Bihar by constituting a committee to interact with them.

Senior LJP leader Ranjan Yadav will head the committee, which has former Bihar Minister and Paswan's brother Pashupati Paras, former State party chief Narender Singh, former Union Minister Nagmani, leader of the LJP legislature party in Bihar Ramashraya Prasad Singh and Maulana Ghulam Rasool Baliabi as members.

Paswan said the committee would not have any interaction with JDU till it severed ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The LJP is for a non-BJP, non-RJD Government.

The LJP leader's efforts come close on the heels of JDU leader Nitish Kumar's letter to non-RJD and non-BJP parties on Government formation in Bihar.

"The Committee will get in touch with leaders of Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPIML), Samajwadi Party (SP), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to seek their support for Government formation," Paswan said.

These parties together have over two dozen MLAs, while LJP has 29 MLAs. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), JDU and BJP together account for 167 MLAs in House of 243.

Paswan said the Committee would have regular interaction with these parties and the Independent MLAs to explore ways to form a secular Government.