NDA finalizes Bihar poll seat-sharing; BJP, JD(U) to contest 101 seats each

Guwahati: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has finalized its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] each set to contest 101 seats out of the 243 in the state assembly, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Sunday.

Under this agreement, Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will contest 29 seats, while the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) have been allotted six seats each.

HAM’s seats include Tekari, Kutumba, Atari, Imamganj, Sikandra, and Barachatti, with official confirmation expected on Monday. Meanwhile, the RLM will contest in constituencies such as Ujiarpur, Madhubani, Sasaram, Dinara, Mahua, and Bajpatti, sources revealed.

Pradhan, who has steered the BJP to a third consecutive victory in Haryana last year and now oversees the Bihar elections, stated that NDA allies reached the seat-sharing deal amicably.

He tweeted, “The NDA allies have completed the distribution of seats in a cordial atmosphere. All workers and leaders of NDA parties warmly welcome this. Bihar is ready and an NDA government will be formed again.”

Notably, this election marks the first time JD(U) will not contest more seats than the BJP, signaling a shift in power dynamics within the alliance.

In the 2020 polls, JD(U) contested 115 seats, while BJP contested 110, with Paswan contesting separately.

The announcement ends a tense period of negotiations, especially between HAM, led by Union Minister and former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, and RLM, both of which had considered contesting separately.

Manjhi initially rejected the seat-sharing proposal because the party demanded at least 15 seats but received an offer of only seven or eight.

However, following talks with top BJP leaders in Delhi, HAM agreed to contest six seats and possibly one MLC seat in the future.

Manjhi had previously indicated that HAM might sit out the polls if not allotted a “respectable number” of seats, stating that he was “requesting, not demanding.”

After finalizing the deal, Manjhi returned to Patna, signaling the alliance’s unity going into the elections.

Meanwhile, the opposition INDIA bloc denied any internal conflict and promised to announce its seat-sharing details soon.

RJD MLA Bhai Virendra told the media, “We have completed everything smoothly. We will hold a press conference tomorrow and reveal all details.”

Adding to the political buzz, a photo showing RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress’s Akhilesh Prasad Singh conversing on a flight from Patna to Delhi went viral, hinting at ongoing coordination efforts among opposition parties.

The Election Commission will hold the two-phase Bihar Assembly elections on November 6 and 11, and announce the results on November 14.