By IANS,
New Delhi : MPs from Bihar and Jharkhand fear under-representation in the union cabinet as the Congress has won just three seats in the two states that together send 54 MPs to the Lok Sabha.
The two Congress seats in Bihar, where the party contested on its own, were won by veteran Dalit leader Meira Kumar in Sasaram and first-timer Mohammad Asrarul Haque in Kishangarh.
With the Congress believed to be against including any Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP, including its leader and former railway minister Lalu Prasad, in the cabinet, only Meira Kumar is likely to make it from the state.
In neighbouring Jharkhand, where the party contested in alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the lone Congress seat was won by former minister of state for food processing industries Subodh Kant Sahai.
The only other contender from the state, JMM leader Shibu Soren, is a tainted politician who came under a cloud as minister and had to resign from the cabinet. It is unlikely that he would be reinducted.
Even if Sahai is retained in the cabinet, say MPs from the two states, it would still mean just two MPs with ministries from the two states — an unprecedented situation.