Besides, BJP's Bihar ally Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) also passed a resolution, demanding that its president and Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha be made NDA's Chief Ministerial candidate in the poll-bound state.
The resolution was passed on Sunday at the party's two-day executive meet in Vaishali in Bihar, where it also endorsed a proposal to fight in 67 seats in the Assembly election, likely to be held in September-October this year, said RLSP chief spokesperson Shivraj Singh.
Kushwaha was also present in the executive meet.
BJP, which is yet to finalise its seat-sharing agreement with its allies, is unlikely to concede to the RLSP demands, but this move by the regional outfit is seen as a ploy to increase its bargaining power in the <g data-gr-id="44">run up</g> to the polls.
RLSP has been pushing for Kushwaha's name as the NDA chief ministerial candidate claiming that he can effectively counter Nitish-Lalu combine's appeal among the backward caste as he hails from the politically significant Kushwaha community and has a record of fighting for OBC empowerment.
However, the LJP has expressed its angst over five present and former MLAs of Manjhi's party.
"We will oppose the candidature of the dissident JD(U) MLA and former Agriculture Minister Narendra
Singh's two MLA sons – Ajay Pratap (<g data-gr-id="56">Jamui</g>) and Sumit Kumar Singh (<g data-gr-id="57">Chakai</g>), disqualified JD(U) MLAs Raju Singh (Sahebganj) and Ajit Kumar (Kanti), besides the JD(U) MLA Anil Kumar (Tekari)," said state unit LJP President Pashupati Kumar Paras. He said his party had already apprised its decision to the senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.
The LJP had earlier hailed Manjhi's decision to join the NDA, saying that HAM (Secular)'s joining would boost the BJP-led coalition's prospects in Bihar and ensure defeat of the JD(U)-RJD alliance. With suspense mounting over NDA's CM <g data-gr-id="48">oick</g>, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Sunday said a decision on the issue would be taken at an appropriate time.
"There is no dispute in the NDA over a Chief Ministerial face for Bihar...we will take a decision on whether to go to the Assembly polls with a Chief Ministerial face at an appropriate time," Paswan said. Paswan was seconded by his brother and senior LJP leader Ramchandra Paswan, who said the NDA has "better and more capable election faces" than Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad.
There was a dispute in the secular alliance over the Chief Ministerial candidate. Lalu Prasad accepted Nitish Kumar as the alliance's Chief Ministerial candidate, after being coerced by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to accept Kumar's leadership for the Bihar Assembly elections, said the Union Minister.
The LJP chief took potshots at the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo for accepting Kumar's leadership in Bihar and said Prasad has now become a subordinate leader.
Meanwhile, BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday took feedback from party leaders and workers on preparations for the elections even as he asked party workers to go on a mass contact mode to ensure NDA victory at the hustings.
"Shah met senior BJP leaders and workers to take feedback on preparations for the Bihar Assembly polls and directed us to step up mass contact to ensure the NDA's victory," BJP state unit chief Mangal Pandey said.
He guided us how we could step up mass mobilisation campaign by harping on BJP's ideology and agendas for <g data-gr-id="46">development</g> of Bihar if the NDA government comes to power, Pandey said.
RJD to cross swords with BJP in saffron strongholds
As seat-sharing talks among allies in the two rival camps in Bihar take shape, it is Lalu Prasad's RJD, which will take on BJP in saffron strongholds, while the latter's allies are likely to be pitted against JD(U) in most seats. Sources in JD(U)-RJD combine said CM Nitish Kumar's outfit will contest seats it had won last time when it contested in alliance with BJP. Though RJD is likely to contest <g data-gr-id="87">about </g>as many seats as JD(U), it will get seats where BJP had won. Prasad will thus have the tough task on hand contesting seats it had lost last <g data-gr-id="89">time,</g> while JD(U) will battle to retain those already in its kitty. NDA sources said BJP will field nominees in almost all seats it had won, leaving anywhere between 55 and 70 seats for its allies like LJP, RLSP and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi's party.