NEW DELHI, 20 September 2005 — Railway minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, in response to a notice served on him by the Election Commission (EC), yesterday denied having violated the model code of conduct by misusing his official position.

The EC notice followed a complaint of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alleging that Lalu and another union minister from his party Prem Chand Gupta had breached the poll code by using the official vehicle for a visit to the EC headquarters to make a request for a change in Bihar election dates.

Saying that he had complete regard for the EC, in his response, Lalu stated that he had used the official vehicle for security reasons as he was placed in “Z” category.

Lalu’s response was handed over to the EC by his senior party leader Ramdeo Bhandari. Lalu had paid Rs. 700 to the Railway Board for being carried from the Rail Bhavan to the commission, Bhandari said. He also drew attention to Lalu, in view of the model code of conduct, having recently used the railway services in north Bihar as an ordinary rail passenger.

Meanwhile, the Patna High Court rejected a petition yesterday seeking readjustment of Bihar Assembly polls in view of Muslim month of Ramadan and Hindu festivals Dussehra and Diwali falling inbetween the month-long four-phase polls. Dismissing the petition, filed by Ajit Sharma, the Patna High Court bench of Chief Justice J.N. Bhat and Justice Shashank Kumar Singh said: “We are not inclined to interfere in the matter.”

The bench also observed: “The EC must have given due consideration to the timing of the religious festivals before announcing the four-phase poll on Oct. 18, 26 and Nov. 13 and 19.” With the Bihar electoral drive gathering steam, the Congress has decided that it would be contesting 113 of the 243 assembly seats, where its chances of winning are bright.

“The seats were identified after a marathon meeting of the state election committee of the Congress late on Sunday night,” said Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Kripanath Pathak. The Congress has chosen to contest the 10 seats it won in February polls, the same number where it stood second, the seats where RJD candidates lost by a margin of 10,000 or more votes and where the RJD nominees had lost in February and had not won in last three successive elections.

The Congress would make the final seat adjustment after discussions between party General Secretary Digvijay Singh and state-based party leaders, including Bihar Congress president Sadanand Singh.

The Congress refused to comment on the political standing at the center of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Ramvilas Paswan, who has become a part of the third front in Bihar polls. When questioned on whether Paswan would remain in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) or not, Digvijay Singh said: “It is an issue for the national leadership of the UPA to decide.”

The Election Commission is meeting in the capital city today, a day ahead of the full commission’s visit to Bihar for a detailed review of electoral preparedness in the state. The meeting, to be attended by 300 observers, would be addressed by the EC led by B.B. Tandon.