PATNA / NEW DELHI: BJP and JD (U) agreed to share the 243 seats of the assembly in Bihar under a formula of almost 50:50 with 122 seats for the team led by Nitish Kumar and 121 for the saffron party, sources from both parties he said Monday.
The two parties are likely to formally announce their respective candidates on Tuesday. In the rapidly evolving political situation after the LJP decided to act alone while asserting its support for the BJP, NDA has joined the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), led by Mukesh Sahni, who resigned from the Grand Alliance last week.
VIP under Mukesh Sahni, a Mumbai-based businessman, marks the first attempt to organize Nishad and Mallah, an extremely backward caste community (EBC) that has a significant presence in the riverside areas of Ganges, Kosi, Gandak, Burhi Gandak and other rivers. .
The other smaller party, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), led by former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi, was hosted by JD (U) chief Nitish Kumar two months ago. He belongs to the Mahadalit Mushahar caste which has a large presence in the Gaya, Purnia, Katihar and Araria districts.
“JD (U) and BJP will each give seven seats each to HAM (S) and VIP to contest the polls. This would leave 115 seats for JD (U) to compete and 114 for BJP. The saffron party agreed to give Nitish a slight advantage, who leads JD (U) who has more MLA than BJP in the outgoing Chamber, ”said a source.
While the alliances with the two caste-based formations mark the growing assertiveness of the newly empowered social communities and an acknowledgment by JD (U) and BJP of the limits of their respective social bases, the ties should help broaden the coalition. social to represent. After a meeting of the BJP central election committee, members of the party’s core team for the Bihar polls returned to Patna on Monday.
Sources said that BJP has decided to eliminate five or six sitting MLAs and will not present relatives of any MLA, deputy or sitting minister either. It became known that some high-ranking members of the state had lobbied for their sons, whose candidacy was rejected by the central electoral committee in the presence of Prime Minister Modi and other senior officials.
Both the saffron party and its ally JD (U) are carrying out new candidate selection strategies, mainly for regions where the LJP has a decisive presence. State Poll Manager Devendra Fadnavis and Secretary General Bhupender Yadav held a series of meetings with senior members, including Interior Minister Amit Shah, Party Chairman JP Nadda, and the CEC attended by Prime Minister Modi. . Although party sources said there is no room for reconciliation with the LJP, they are not ruling out surprises in the coming days.
Aware of the potential losses following LJP’s unilateral decision not to run candidates against BJP in Bihar, JD (U) is working on a strategy to organize joint demonstrations by PM Modi and CM Nitish Kumar for its candidates.
The team led by Kumar wants to leave no room for any confusion and the position must be made clear that even after the departure of LJP, the alliance between JD (U) and BJP remains strong. Furthermore, JD (U) will also fight for the expulsion of LJP from NDA at all levels, as the party led by Chirag Paswan has announced that its ties with BJP will continue and it will remain part of NDA at the national level.
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