Bihar speaker, ex-IAS officer in JD-U first list

New Delhi/Patna, March 15 (IANS) Bihar Assembly Speaker Uday Narain Choudhary and former IAS officer K.P. Ramiah figure in the first list of Janata Dal-United candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar that was released in Delhi Saturday.

Announcing the names of candidates for seven of the 38 constituencies, party president Sharad Yadav said it decided to field Uday Narain Choudhary from Jamui and K.P. Ramiah from Sasaram. Both seats are reserved for scheduled castes.

The JD-U will in alliance with the Communist Party of India (CPI).

Choudhary will contest against Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Ram Vilas Paswan's son Chirag Paswan, an actor-turned-politician who is contesting for the first time.

Ramiah, who took voluntary retirement last month, joined the JD-U last week. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is the sitting Congress MP from Sasaram. She is daughter of late Congress leader Babu Jagjivan Ram.

JD-U has given tickets to its two sitting MPs in the first list - Kaushalendra Kumar from Nalanda constituency and Mahabali Singh from Karakat seat.

It fielded party legislator Kaushal Yadav from Nawada seat and Bihar SC/ST Welfare Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi from Gaya. JD-U has fielded Bagi Kumar Verma from Aurangabad constituency.

The JD-U and the CPI have joined hands to contest 38 and 2 of the state's 40 Lok Sabha seats respectively.

According to JD-U leaders, the party has not announced candidates for remaining seats in view of resentment of some leaders over selection of candidates.

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