Patna: Dispelling rumours of a strain in ties with the state leadership, Congress MLA Nitu Kumari said she is not 'upset' with the party but wants to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Nawaad constituency of Bihar.
To a question if all was well, Nitu Kumar told reporters on Friday, "I am not upset with the party. I have merely requested senior leaders of the party to give me a ticket to contest the Nawada Lok Sabha constituency in the upcoming elections. I also want to be elected an MP."
Asked if she would consider switching over to the BJP if offered a Lok Sabha ticket for Nawada, the Congress MLA said, "If the BJP makes me an offer, I will think about it."
Nitu Kumari currently represents the Hisua constituency in the Bihar Assembly. The Nawada seat is currently held by Lok Jan Shakti Party candidate Chandan Singh, who won it in the 2019 elections.
The Congress was part of the Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar some months back before Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made the latest of his famous switchovers to the return to the BJP-led NDA.
Nitish, after parting ways with the BJP in 2022, took the initiative of uniting all opposition forces to jointly take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling party in the general elections.
The Congress, which is driving the INDIA bloc to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, is currently holding seat-sharing talks with its partners in the state.
In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party sealed a seat-sharing deal with the Congress, as part of which the former will contest 63 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state, setting aside the remaining 17 for the Congress.
The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also announced seat-sharing pact for Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Chandigarh and Goa. As per the deal, the Congress will contest 3 of the 7 Lok Sabha seats in the national capital while the AAP will field candidates in the remaining 4 constituencies.
In Gujarat, the Congress will contest 24 of 26 Lok Sabha seats, leaving the remaining 2--Bharuch and Bhavnagar--for the AAP.
In Haryana, the Congress will contest 8 of the 9 Lok Sabha seats while the AAP will contest the lone seat--Kurukshetra. The Congress will also contest the prized Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat and both the seats in Goa.
Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats. In the 2019 general elections, the BJP won 17 seats in the state, while Janata Dal (United) got 16 seats, Lok Jan Shakti Party 6 and the Congress one. (ANI)
