Updated: October 2, 2020 10:56:29 am
Lalu Prasad Yadav. (Proceedings)
While the nomination process for the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections began on Thursday, the Grand Alliance of the Opposition appears to be stagnant in the allocation of seats, and RJD National President Lalu Prasad reportedly gave clear message to his son and to the prime minister of the party He will face Tejashwi Yadav for not offering Congress more than 60 or 61 seats.
Congress has sought to contest around 70 seats.
The CPI (ML), which had been offered 15 seats by the RJD, has rejected the offer and declared a list of 30 candidates.
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The secretary of the Bihar office of the CPI (ML), Kumar Parvez, said: “We are not ready to accept the type (number) of seats that RJD offers us. We have filed our lawsuit; now it’s up to RJD to take one last call. In the meantime, we have published our first list of 30 candidates. “
On the seating arrangement with Congress, an RJD leader explained: “As Congress can easily shift its allegiance to the other field [Nitish Kumar’s JD-U, in case the results throw up a hung Assembly] After the election results, Lalu Prasad wants RJD to compete for the maximum number of seats. Furthermore, it is always easy for smaller parties to split up when the majority of their legislators want to change their allegiance.
RJD distrusts Cong-Nitish show at Hung House
After its lousy show in last year’s blank Lok Sabha polls, the RJD has decided not to give the allies enough leverage at its expense. The party also feels that Congress will always be open to a post-election alliance with Nitish Kumar in the event of a hung Assembly. So the fewer seats Congress has, the less influence it will have after the results, according to RJD’s scheme.
The RJD said that RLSP leader Upendra Kushwaha was fired because his “loyalty to the Grand Alliance was wavering.”
However, Bihar Congress spokesman Rajesh Rathore seemed confident that he could fix things soon. He told The Indian Express: “We will share seats in a friendly manner. It could take a day or two. “
According to the RJD leader cited above, the party seeks to compete for more than 150 seats. “We had offered three left-wing parties and JMM [Jharkhand Mukti Morcha] 25 seats in total. While CPI and CPI (M) seemed willing to accept our offer, CPI (ML) wants 20 seats. Our leadership has decided not to engage with allies and potential allies beyond a certain point, ”said the leader.
The RJD leader added that Vikasshil Insaan Party (VIP) is trying to bargain hard with the main opposition party in the state.
Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s RLSP have so far left the Grand Alliance, apparently due to the RJD’s tough stance on the seat-sharing formula.
Another RJD leader said the alliance partners had been unable to transfer their votes to RJD, which was unable to open its account in last year’s Lok Sabha polls, down from four seats won in 2014. “We will not allow any extra baggage this time. We will put our strength to the test, ”said the leader.
The RJD has 81 seats in this Assembly.
When asked about RJD’s tough stance, Congressional Rathore said high-level leaders from both RJD and Congress had been working it out.
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