Despite claims that “all is well” and the “NDA is united,” seat sharing in the alliance is still stuck at the heart of the matter. The alliance leaders, however, are confident that everything will be resolved before the nomination for the first phase elections begins in the first week of October.
The alliance has not yet announced the number of seats each of the allies will contest. Sources from JD (U) and BJP said the main problem is between two main alliance partners, BJP and JD (U), who are hooked on various issues. “There is a debate going on on a seat-to-seat basis. Announcements would be made later this month, ”said a senior NDA leader.
Bihar BJP in charge and Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav had already discussed the seat-sharing exercise with JD (U) MPs Rajiv Ranjan Singh aka Lallan Singh and RCP Singh.
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One of the key reasons for the delay, alliance sources said, is the 51-seat division between the BJP and the JD (U), which both parties contested with each other in the 2015 assembly elections. “The JD ( U) had won 28 seats and the BJP 23. Both are claiming claims by virtue of voting participation, traditional seats and other rationales, ”said an NDA leader.
Another reason seat sharing has become a concern for ruling allies is seven MLAs from RJD who joined JD (U) recently. All seven had won from seats contested by the BJP or the LJP in 2015. The electoral districts they represented are Patepur, Gaighat, Parsa, Keoti, Sasaram, Teghra and Paliganj.
“Under these circumstances, the 2010 results are more likely to become the basis for contesting the 2020 election. Some of these seats will go to JD (U) and some will resign,” said one NDA leader.
The problem for the NDA has been further compounded by the union of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM-S) led by Jitan Ram Manjhi and speculation that former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha led by the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) you can also join the alliance.
“There is no confusion in the NDA regarding seating arrangements. As far as the RLSP is concerned, so far there have been no conversations with them, ”BJP state president Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal clarified on Sunday.
BJP sources said that for the first time, senior party officials have been pressured by state parliamentarians who have urged the central leadership to have equal participation with the JD (U). The total strength of the Bihar assembly is 243 seats, while the number of Lok Sabha seats in the state is 40. In Lok Sabha, both the JD (U) and the BJP had contested 17 seats each, leaving six for the LJP. The BJP and LJP won all their seats while the JD (U) lost one.
“The BJP was kind enough to discard 13 of the seats it had contested in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections to accommodate the JD (U) in the 2019 elections. Now it is the turn of the JD (U) to correspond the gesture, ”said a senior BJP leader.
The JD (U) had contested 101 seats in 2015 and won 71 seats when it was part of the Grand Alliance compared to 53 won by the BJP. The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) led by Chirag Paswan had won just two seats. If the 2010 assembly polls are to be the basis, the JD (U) had contested 141 seats and won 115, while the BJP had contested 102 and won 91 seats. The LJP was not part of the alliance at the time.
Generally speaking, both the BJP and JD (U) have decided to accommodate the LJP and HAM-S from their respective quota of seats. JD (U) sources said that the party will, in all probability, settle for 110-120 seats, leaving the rest for the BJP which will have to accommodate the LJP.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had recently said that any conversation with Chirag Paswan about sharing seats will be handled by the BJP. “Anyone who is with BJP is also with me,” Nitish Kumar said, adding that Jitan Ram Manjhi’s return to the alliance was also overseen by him, but only after taking the BJP in confidence.
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