Patna, May 2: The Left parties - CPI, CPM and CPI-ML(Liberation) - have decided to contest together for the Bihar Legislative Council polls scheduled in July, to strengthen their ties.

Of a total strength of 75 in the Upper House, 24 members (around one-third) would be filled from Local Authority Constituency for which the Election Commission is likely to issue a notification anytime in May. The election for these 24 seats have to be completed by mid-July.

With the merger of the Janata parivar, the Left parties - marginalised in the state's electoral politics - have decided to translate their unity efforts into reality by contesting council polls together, under the bigger umbrella of the Left ideology.

The parties have held two rounds of talks to decide as to which party would contest how many seats and from where. A third round of meeting is scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday) to discuss the issue.

"All the Left parties in Bihar will contest the Council polls in alliance. There is a consensus among the Left parties in this regard. We have almost decided the seats on which the Left wants to contest," said CPI state secretary Satya Narayan Singh.