With the Congress announcing it would contest 26 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, RJD and LJP have launched a damage control exercise asking the national party not to do anything that could spoil the UPA's poll prospects in the state.

"I hope Sonia Gandhi will not do anything which weakens UPA and strengthens NDA," Union Minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters after holding an hour-long meeting with RJD chief Lalu Prasad Thursday evening.