Patna: The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamul Congress (TMC) has decided to field candidates in the Lok Sabha as well as Assembly elections in Bihar.

The announcement was made during the TMC's first state-level convention at Bapu Sabhagar on Saturday in which party senior leaders, including its national general secretary Subrata Bakshi and Gulam Rabbani, a minister in Bengal, were present. At the convention, Bakshi attacked the BJP saying secularism was under threat under the BJP.

"Secularism is under great threat in the BJP regime and we have to save it, as it is very important to save the sovereignty of a country. The BJP wants to finish it," Bakshi told the gathering.

He said the Trinamul Congress was nothing when it came into existence but was today running the government in Bengal. "There was a time when the Congress had 400 MPs in Lok Sabha but today we all know what its numbers are. Similarly there was a time when the BJP were just 2 MPs but today they have a government at the Centre. We have to work on the same pattern to make our mark in Bihar," Bakshi said.

With them was Bhatpara MLA Arjun Singh, who is the party's observer for Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. Arjun said that in the days to come even Mamata Banerjee will come to Bihar to campaign for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.