Nitish Kumar’s JDU and BJP have reached a 122-121 seat agreement for the Bihar polls.
New Delhi:
Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United and the BJP have split Bihar’s 243 seats in half, his “big brother” status in the state having earned him just one additional seat, sources said. The agreement to share seats will be officially announced tomorrow.
Of the 122 seats in JD (U) participation, five seats will be for Jitin Ram Manjhi’s HAM. Of the 121 seats at the BJP, some will be handed over to the Vikassheel Insaan Party or Mukesh Nishad VIP.
The Vikassheel Insaan Party, which left the Grand Alliance yesterday, had announced that it would compete with the 243 seats in the state. Party chief Mukesh Nishad, who is also a set designer in Bollywood, said his party will win a large number of seats and will be crucial for the formation of the government.
But throughout the day, the party has also been in talks with the BJP, the final announcement will be made during tomorrow’s press meeting, sources said.
Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti party, led by his son Chirag Paswan, has announced that it will compete against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United, but not against the BJP.
Citing ideological differences with the JD (U), the party said that “all the winning candidates will form a BJP-LJP government” and added that there was no “acidity” in the relationship with the BJP.
In an open letter to the people of Bihar today, Chirag Paswan wrote: “This decision has not been made to rule Bihar, but to be proud … This is the great turning point in the history of the state of Bihar – this is the life or death question for 12 crore Biharis, we have no more time to lose. “
The stance left the BJP’s role open to speculation. A section of the NDA leaders suggested that Chirag Paswan’s bold move (targeting Nitish Kumar for months and then going solo) would not have been possible without the tacit support of top BJP leaders.
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