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The ruling National Democratic Alliance in Bihar have finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming polls to the 243-member assembly, in which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-United and the Bharatiya Janata Party will contest 101 constituencies each, leaving the rest for smaller allies.
The announcement to the effect came on X handles of JD-U working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, deputy chief minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary and Union minister Chirag Paswan, whose Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas settled with a deal of 29 seats.
The Hindustani Awam Morcha of Jitan Ram Manjhi, who had been insisting on “at least 15 seats”, was given only six constituencies, while the remaining six assembly segments went to Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha.
This is the first assembly poll since CM Nitish Kumar spearheaded the NDA to end the 15-year reign of the RJD-led government in Bihar in 2005, that his JD-U will not be contesting more seats than the BJP in alliance, a clear signal of the acknowledgement within the ruling bloc of the regional party’s decline and the BJP’s growing heft.
BJP’s Bihar polls in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan said all National Democratic Alliance partners have completed the seat-distribution exercise in a “cordial manner”.
He said, “Leaders and workers of all NDA parties welcome this with happiness. Bihar is ready for another NDA government.”
Paswan, who seems to have drawn the best bargain, and Kushwaha echoed Pradhan’s message.
Jha, Choudhary and Paswan, all of whom have been camping in New Delhi for the past few days, were also unanimous in the averment that the deal was clinched in an “amicable atmosphere”.
