PATNA: On Monday, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners in Bihar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)], did not disclose the specifics of constituency allocations, leading to rising concerns about seat distribution and the equal sharing of electoral positions between the parties. This is the first instance where CM Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) has had to split seats equally with the BJP.
Discussions involving BJP state chief Dilip Jaiswal, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, ministers Nitin Nabin and Vijay Choudhary, along with JD(U) representative Sanjay Kumar Jha, ended without resolution. Insiders indicated that tensions had escalated over the allocation of high-stakes constituencies. As a result, Dinara MLA Jai Kumar Singh resigned from the JD(U) after losing his seat to the Rashtriya Loktantrik Morcha (RLM).
Despite the underlying tensions, NDA officials characterized the seat-sharing agreement as “amicable,” asserting that the division of 101 seats each between the BJP and JD(U) was not contentious. Deputy Chief Minister Choudhary referred to Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) [HAM(S)], labeling him as the NDA’s “guardian” in Bihar and expressed satisfaction with the six seats allocated to his party.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (Rashtriya Valent) [LJP(RV)] continues to negotiate with the BJP, seeking 29 seats in total. Notably, he requested the Govindganj seat from the BJP and the Matihani seat in Begusarai from the JD(U). Similar to HAM(S), RLM also plans to contest in six seats.
BJP’s state election in-charge, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, is currently in Patna to finalize the seat allocations as the deadline for filing nomination papers for the second phase of elections on November 11 approaches.
With speculations intensifying around conflicts within the NDA for specific seats, BJP leader Giriraj Singh recalled the successful outcomes of the 2010 polls, where the NDA won 206 out of 243 seats, emphasizing the historical performance of both the JD(U) and BJP during that election cycle.
RLM chief Kushwaha employed poetry to hint at discontent, stating, “Today, the clouds conspired again, rained where my home was. If the sky is adamant on striking lightning, I am also adamant on building a home there,” while also apologizing to his supporters for not contesting more seats.
Manjhi faced dissent within HAM(S) regarding the selection of Romit Singh for the Atri constituency and the acceptance of one seat less than in the 2020 elections. He commented, “I will try to convince our party workers, who are undoubtedly disappointed.” Meanwhile, LJP (RV) MP Shambhavi Choudhary reiterated that their goal is to maintain their previous performance in the 29 seats secured. He reminded that Chirag’s party had achieved a 100% success rate in the last Lok Sabha elections.
