RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav (left) with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: They have an official Chief Ministerial face, decided on a Deputy Chief Ministerial candidate without much squabble and came out with a joint manifesto ahead of its rival but I.N.D.I.A parties have refused to budge on fighting against each other in 12 constituencies in Bihar.
Congress, RJD, CPI, Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) and India Inclusive Party are (IIP) in friendly fights with one of its allies, including in one seat where the RJD candidate refused to withdraw despite the party giving it in writing, as a settlement remained far despite rounds of negotiations.
RJD is fighting Congress in five seats – Sikandra, Kahalgaon, Sultanganj, Vaishali and Narkatiaganj – while CPI is fighting the Congress in four seats – Raja Pakar, Kargahar, Bihar Sharif and Bachchwara. RJD and VIP are locked in a fight in two seats – Chainpur and Gaura Bauram where the RJD candidate refused to withdraw. Congress and IIP are locked in a contest in Beldaur.
Interestingly, senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launched her campaign on Saturday with a rally in Bacchwara while an announced rally in Beldaur did not take place. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is also likely to launch his campaign from Raja Pakar, a reserved seat, next Monday.
In the five seats where RJD and Congress are locking horns, the latter had contested the 2020 elections and had come second and both could not find a common ground. Congress had lost Sikandra by 5,505 votes while it was defeated in Vaishali by 7,413 votes, Sultanganj by 11,565, Narkatiaganj by 21,134 and Kahalgaon by 412,893 votes.
Kahalgaon is the only seat among these five that will see a different NDA party to fight this time as against 2020. JD(U), which is fielding the Congress candidate who came a distant second five years ago, will contest this time though the seat was won by BJP last time, which expelled the sitting MLA for anti-party activities recently.
CPI has fielded candidates in two seats – Rajapakar and Kargahar – where Congress won last time while the latter has fielded a candidate in Bachhwara where the Left party narrowly lost – 484 votes – to BJP, especially due to Congress rebel Shiv Prakash Garib Das bagging 39,878 votes and this time, he is Congress’ official candidate.
In Biharsharif which was vacated by RJD, both Congress and CPI have fielded candidates. Congress fielding a candidate in Bachhwara, which both considers their stronghold, seemed to have irked CPI, prompting it to fight its ally in three other seats.
VIP and RJD are locked in a contest in Chainpur, which was contested by Congress and won by BSP, this time with both sides looking to capitalise on the Bind community voters.
Both the parties are also in contest in Gaura Bauram where VIP had won against RJD last time by 7,280 votes.
Though initially it fielded a candidate, RJD asked its candidate Afzal Ali Khan to withdraw from the race for VIP’s Santosh Sahani, the brother of Mukesh Sahani, but he refused. It is to be seen whether the local RJD unit will work with Sahani or stick to Khan who lost in 2020.
The IIP, the new entrant in the I.N.D.I.A bloc, is also in a contest against Congress in Beldaur, which the latter lost by 5,108 votes in 2020. IIP is contesting two other seats in alliance.