Sunday, September 11 2005 18:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: The Bihar unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today (Sept 11, 2005) tentatively decided to field its candidate on 105 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections to facilitate the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) forming the Government, state BJP President Sushil Kumar Modi announced here today.

Modi told reporters "NDA will not be able to form the Government on its own unless BJP wins 65 to 70 seats and hence we have decided to contest as many as 105 seats".

The final decision about BJP fielding its candidates would be taken on September 14 at its state executive committee meeting here, Modi said adding that all the 37 party candidates who emerged victorious in the February assembly elections against all odds would be re-nominated this time.

Modi said the three-day National Executive Meeting commencing from September 16 at Chennai would also discuss the Bihar polls and take a decision about other party nominees for Bihar elections.

Modi reposed full faith in the EC and said the Commission had succeeded in organising almost free and fair polls during the last assembly elections and "this time too we expect the EC officials headed by B B Tandon, K J Rao and others to conduct free and fair elections in the state".

He demanded an all party meeting for deployment of para-military forces and said the EC should made public the list of sensitive booths and arrangements made for manning the sensitive booths.