Opposing groups in Bihar are scrambling to finalize their seat-sharing agreements for the upcoming assembly elections, with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress nearing their completion, and the Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (United) , and The Lok Janshakti Party ended at least part of its own, people familiar with the matter said.
The latest proposal from the opposition alliance is that Congress will contest 70 seats, the left parties 29, and Mukesh Sahani’s Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) 11. The RJD will present its candidates in the remaining 133 electoral districts. A formal seat-sharing announcement will be made in the coming days after the six constituents of Mahagathbandhan, or Grand Alliance, identify their respective seats, a congressional leader said on condition of anonymity, without ruling out some last-minute adjustments to the final agreement.
Also read: The new generation of LJP aims to expand the footprints in Bihar using an old tactic
On the other hand, according to a BJP leader familiar with the matter who asked not to be named, the BJP and JD (U), who have so far put up a joint front, are bargaining hard for a few seats. “Of the 243 seats, the BJP and the JD (U) have more or less resolved the division of up to 123, as the parties have generally agreed to retain the winning seats or bastions. However, the parties are negotiating hard on the remaining 120, ”said an official.
The LJP also continues to play tough, insisting that it be given between 27 and 36 seats, this person added.
The JD (U) wants to contest the most seats. “There is also some disagreement between the JD (U) and the BJP on some seats where the incumbent resigned from the RJD to join the JD (U). The BJP wants some of these seats, while the JD (U) will have to accommodate its new members from these districts, ”this person added.
Also read: Bihar assembly election: 5 districts in focus at high-level security meeting
The BJP parliamentary board and election committee are expected to meet on Sunday to finalize the candidates.
The three left-wing parties, the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninst), have joined the Grand Alliance following the assessment that the decision to keep them out of The 2019 Lok Sabha elections hurt the grouping in many districts by splitting the anti-NDA vote.
There was also an assessment in the opposition alliance, especially by the RJD, that Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) and former Prime Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) did not add any value because their votes were non-transferable. . They both eventually left the Grand Alliance.
Also read: Once vibrant student politics takes a backseat on Bihar’s caste-driven campuses
The congressional leader cited in the first instance said that the distribution of seats will, in general, be a “matter without problems” and added that the differences between the party and the RJD were resolved after the president of the Congress, Sonia Gandhi, transmitted that his party would not settle for less than 70 seats. A second congressional leader said that Gandhi also made a strong exception to comments made against the RJD leadership by some members of his party and asked them to desist from such remarks at a time when all like-minded parties have decided to unite. against the NDA government in Bihar.
.
