No dispute with Nitish Kumar over candidates: Sharad Yadav

There is no dispute with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, said JD-U chief Sharad Yadav on Friday and added that the party will release the names of its candidates in New Delhi on March 15.

"There are no differences or disputes with Nitish Kumar and in the party over candidates for the polls," Yadav told the media here, referring to the reports that a group of Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leaders in Bihar is unhappy over new entrants to the party being named as candidates for the polls.

After holding a meeting with Nitish Kumar to finalise the candidates, Sharad Yadav also made it clear that he was neither unhappy nor angry with him.

"But one thing is certain that the Janata Dal-United will give a few tickets to new entrants for polls and would prefer to give tickets to committed party leaders and workers," Sharad Yadav said.

Some JD-U leaders on Thursday met Yadav and protested the way the party has given tickets to new entrants to contest the polls, ignoring party leaders and workers who have been working for years.

Bihar Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh and Transport Minister Brishen Patel have publicly expressed their reservations over giving more weightage to the new entrants.

Earlier this month, Nitish Kumar announced names like film-maker Prakash Jha for Bettiah seat and Avanish Singh, who quit the Bharatiya Janata Party and joined the JD-U, from Motihari.

The JD-U will contest 38 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats from Bihar, as it has given two seats to the Communist Party of India under an alliance.