BJP meeting ahead of Bihar polls.
Credit: PTI
New Delhi: Just two days ahead of the filing of nominations for the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections, senior leaders of the BJP as well as the NDA met to flesh out seat sharing details and ticket distribution. Senior BJP leaders Dharmendra Pradhan, Keshav Maurya, Nityanand Rai, Sanjay Jaiswal, Giriraj Singh held a meeting in Patna to discuss the BJP’s own tickets. Pradhan also held a meeting with Chirag Paswan, Jitan Manjhi, and Upendra Kushwaha.
BJP leaders said that the internal meeting among senior party faces was to finalise a list of the party’s own candidates. “These names have been finalised after a prolonged process of feedback; we will take these names to Delhi for a meeting with the central leaders,” a leader part of the meeting said. A key meeting of the BJP top brass is slated for October 12.
The BJP is feeling the heat of alliance partners, after the JDU said that it is leaving the choice of ticket distribution with the BJP. The JDU had fought on 115 seats last term winning only 43, while the BJP won 74 seats among the 105 seats it contested. The BJP is hoping to contest in more seats than JDU.
On the other hand, Lok Janshakti Party leader and union minister Chirag Paswan has demanded 40 seats, while BJP sources are keen only on 15-20 seats for his party. Chirag, who was observing some rites for his father Ramvilas Paswan as it was his death anniversary on Wednesday, also said that his father had always advised him to fight for his rights.
Union minister and Hindustan Awam Morcha chief Jitan Ram Manjhi said that he will not make any more demands from the BJP, since the saffron party should be able to understand his strengths. “When the NDA parties went to the Election Commission to make a representation, I was not invited but parties with no MLAs were there. Isn’t this an insult,” he told reporters in Patna. Manjhi has been demanding 15 seats, and said that any less than this will lead him to not contest the polls. In 2020, HAM contested on 7 seats and won only 4.
Senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh said that there are no disagreements among the NDA constituents. “No one is angry with the other, and seats will be distributed amicably,” Singh told reporters in Patna. He added that the delay is due to small issues.