Amid bickering, claims, and counterclaims over seat distribution in Bihar, the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) coalition partners are said to be looking at a 17:17:05:01 formula, wherein the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Janata Dal (United) get to contest 17 seats each, the Congress gets five, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) one. Bihar has 40 Lok Sabha seats.
However, there seems to opposition from Left leaders who want to be suitably accommodated, while the Congress said a formula would be announced “soon as it is not too late”.
Amid all the speculation, there is also talk that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may dissolve the State Assembly on January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, and make a big move.
Sources in the Grand Alliance confirmed that there is broad consensus among JD(U) and RJD leaders on the formula. In the 2019 LS election, the JD(U) had joined hands with the BJP, as part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The JD(U) won 16 of 17 seats it contested and the BJP all 17 seats. Another NDA ally, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) bagged six, while the Congress won the solo seat of Kishanganj. The RJD had drawn a blank.
JD(U) leaders have been reiterating that their sitting MPs will not be “disturbed” and the party would contest on 17 seats, while the onus is on RJD to accommodate the Congress and Left parties “in the remaining 23 seats”. “JD(U) should get 17 seats and we have conveyed this to parties associated with INDIA [Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance]”, senior party leader K.C. Tyagi told mediapersons with his party colleagues and Ministers Vijendra Choudhary and Bijendra Yadav reiterating the same. “The JD(U) has a ruling alliance with the RJD and the latter had come with Congress and the three Left parties to form the Grand Alliance”, Energy, Planning and Development Minister Yadav told The Hindu while ruling out any discussion on seats with sitting MPs.
However, State Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh had a suggestion for the two prime allies: “JD(U) and RJD should contest 15 seats each as every political party associated with the INDIA bloc will have to be flexible, if we have to contest the LS election together,” Mr. Singh said while adding, “Seat distribution among allies in Bihar will be done soon”. He also asked, “Has BJP declared the seats it would contest?”
The Left parties, Communist Party of India (CPI) and CPI(ML), too have put forth their demands. CPI general secretary D. Raja has been meeting RJD and JD(U) leaders in Patna for the past two days and is keen on Begusarai seat for the party, sources said. Begusarai has traditionally been a Communist stronghold but in 2019, BJP’s Giriraj Singh had defeated CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar by a huge margin. Mr. Kanhaiya Kumar has since joined the Congress and is likely to contest the LS election from a Delhi seat. Similarly, CPI(ML) has been demanding Ara, Siwan, and Jehanabad but it is said the Mahagathbandhan leaders have agreed to allocate only Ara for the party. “Our delegation will soon meet RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as we had met his father Lalu Prasad few days ago. We are ready for some compromises but seat-sharing should be respectable and send the right message to voters”, said party State secretary Kunal.
Amid the intense negotiations, former Chief Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi created a buzz on Tuesday by saying CM Kumar could do a political U-turn anytime “if he gets an invitation from the BJP”. Mr. Manjhi also added that “after the inauspicious period of Kharmas ends [on January 14], Mr. Kumar may make a major political move in the State”. Poll strategist-turned-political activist Prashant Kishor, who has been undertaking the Jan Suraaj (People’s Good Governance) campaign across the State for the past 15 months, gave his own prediction that “Mr. Kumar is on the last leg of his political journey and his party [JD(U)] will not cross single digits in the 2024 election”.
The political stage has surely heated up in the State ahead of the general election.
