Bihar Seat Talks Hit Fever Pitch As NDA, INDIA Parties Push For Larger Share Of Poll Pie – Delhi News Daily

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (left) and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. (PTI)

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the opposition INDIA bloc are locked in intense seat-sharing negotiations with the deadline for the Bihar assembly elections inching closer as smaller allies push for their share of the pie and major allies work to iron out differences over competing demands.

The NDA Camp

Hectic parleys are on in the NDA camp to finalise a formula that ensures allies are content without upsetting the arithmetic of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Union minister and BJP Bihar in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan has met key allies Jitin Ram Manjhi (HAM) and Upendra Kushwaha (RLSP) to reach a consensus on seat sharing.

While Manjhi is demanding 20 seats, sources say the BJP is trying to limit the number between seven and 10. Similarly, Kushwaha has asked for 15 seats, while the BJP wants to keep his share to around seven or eight.

Meanwhile, Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is eyeing a sizable chunk of 30-35 seats but the BJP and JD(U) are expected to rein in the party’s expectations with an offer of 20-22 seats.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has chaired a key meeting of the JD(U) core team, insisting the party should contest over 100 seats. Known to share a blow hot, blow cold relationship with Paswan, he has reportedly asked the BJP to reduce the latter’s demands of a larger share of the seat-sharing pie.

A second round of NDA seat-sharing talks is expected later this week, with announcements likely soon after.

INDIA Bloc

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the largest party in the alliance, wants to contest 130 of Bihar’s 243 seats and its leader Tejashwi Yadav is engaged in tough negotiations with the Congress. The RJD wants the Grand Old Party to settle for 55 seats, given its poor strike rate in the last state elections. The Congress leadership is scheduled to meet virtually in Delhi on Tuesday to discuss the Bihar strategy.

The RJD is also trying to negotiate with the Left parties that are buoyed by a strong performance in the last election. While the Left is demanding 45 seats, the RJD wants to restrict them to around 35. Yadav is expected to meet CPI General Secretary D Raja soon to finalise the deal.

What may add to Yadav’s woes is the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), which is eyeing a massive 50-60 seats—far more than what the RJD is willing to offer. The current proposal is to allocate VIP around 20 seats, but party chief Mukesh Sahani remains defiant.

The Prashant Kishor Factor

Adding a punch to the political drama in the state, poll strategist-turned-neta Prashant Kishor is all set to make his electoral debut. His party, Jan Suraaj, is expected to release its first list of candidates on Thursday (October 9) and Kishor’s name will likely feature on it.

Kishor’s entry is being closely watched by both camps as he could influence urban and youth voters disillusioned with the traditional political setups.

Bihar Polls

The Election Commission on Monday announced that Bihar will vote in a two-phase election on November 6 and 11, and the results for the high-stakes electoral battle will be announced on November 14.

The ECI announced that Bihar has a total of 7.43 crore voters this election with 14 lakh first time voters. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar also said that this will be the best election for voters. “Bihar elections will be easy for voters. Full monitoring of law and order will be maintained. Bihar election will be reflected as the best election,” he said while announcing the poll dates.

In the 2020 polls, held amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the BJP had won 75 seats out of 110 that it had contested, and its strength rose over the years on account of defections from other parties as also victories in bypolls. The NDA as a whole had secured a majority with 125 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan had won 110. The RJD emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats.