LoP in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
Credit: PTI
New Delhi: With the countdown to the announcement of the poll schedule starting, the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ (Grand Alliance) is rushing to conclude a seat-sharing deal in Bihar, where coalition heavyweights RJD and Congress may end up giving up at least a dozen seats each, which they contested in 2020, to accommodate new entrants and balance the aspirations of other parties.
Hectic negotiations are on amid grandstanding by the allies but there is larger consensus that the final count will be known only after holding discussions on the pros and cons seat by seat. There is pressure on the RJD and the Congress to give up seats while smaller parties are seeking a bigger pie of seats.
The opposition coalition is upbeat after the success of ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ and believes that the JD(U)-BJP government is under strain on a variety of fronts, including jobs and law and order.
In 2020, RJD had contested 144 seats and won 75 while Congress, which contested 70, could only win 19. The CPI(ML)L contested 19 and won 12 while CPI won two out of six and CPI(M) two out of four.
Neither RJD nor Congress have not publicly committed to reducing its share though leaders in private indicate that there will have to be adjustment by the two parties. In such a scenario, RJD and Congress may have to give up 12-14 seats each.
This, sources said, may help CPI(ML)L to increase by around half-a-dozen seats though they are looking for an increase of at least 12 seats. New entrant VIPs may get a dozen seats while JMM and LJP (Paras) could get two seats each, they said adding CPI may get six and CPI(M) four.
The CPI(ML)L, which had joined the ‘Maha Gadbandhan’ at the last minute in 2020, had earlier indicated that it was looking to contest 40-45 seats. In 2020, the party was fighting the elections alone in 30 seats but the negotiations led to joining the RJD-led Grand Alliance by agreeing to contest only 19.
Congress is also holding internal meetings and it is learnt to have decided to field its sitting MLAs again. However, all is not well in the Congress camp with senior MP Tariq Ahmed skipping meeting the Screening Committee.
On Saturday, he posted on ‘X’, “the announcement of the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections could happen anytime. Supporters and workers of the Congress Party are eagerly awaiting the list of candidates. It is hoped that this time, honest, dedicated, and grassroots workers will be given priority.”