TIA/Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party, upbeat with the recent verdict of the Allahabad High Court on Ram Janmabhoomi, has said that it expects to increase its seats in the Bihar Assembly from 55 to 65 in the forthcoming polls.
“The verdict of the Allahabad High Court has endorsed the faith of the Hindus regarding the birthplace of Lord Ram and has also justified our demand for construction of a temple at that site,” said the BJP President Nitin Gadkari at a dinner hosted by him on Monday in Delhi.
According to Gadkari the JDU-BJP coalition in Bihar led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had initiated lot of developmental activities in the last five years, apart from restoring law and order in the earlier strife-ridden state.
The people of Bihar are very much impressed with the performance of the JDU-BJP coalition.
“We are likely to increase our seats in the Bihar Assembly by atleast 10 in the forthcoming polls,” he said.
At present in the 243-member Bihar Assembly, the ruling JDU-BJP coalition has 143 seats – JDU having 88 seats and BJP 55. According to smoe analysts the RJD and LJP may benefit due to the possible shift in Muslim votes aftermath the Allahabad High Court verdict. At present RJD has 54 seats and LJP has 10. Apart from gaining from the shift in Muslim votes, the RJD is likely to consolidate its traditional Yadav vote bank and so also the LJP with its dalit vote bank. The JDU-BJP alliance, therefore, faces the challenge of retaining its high percentage of votes.