Bihar polls: Vikasheel Insaan Party agrees to contest in 15 seats with INDIA bloc

Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani will be filing his nomination from Gaura Bauram seat in Darbhanga district

Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP), a key constituent of the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, on Friday morning announced that it has come into a seat sharing agreement with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-Congress-Left combine, to contest 15 seats in the forthcoming assembly polls.

Mukesh Sahni addresses the gathering in this file photo. (ANI file photo)

VIP chief Mukesh Sahani will be filing his nomination from Gaura Bauram seat in Darbhanga district. Sahani has his native home in the constituency.

“Yes, a seat deal has been stitched with RJD-Congress and other partners in the INDIA bloc or Mahagatbandhan in Bihar. We will contest 15 seats in alliance with other partners,” said Dev Jyoti, national spokesperson of the VIP and close aide of Sahani.

Jyoti also said the VIP has been assured two MLCs and one Rajya Sabha seat by the major allies in the INDIA bloc including RJD as part of the seat sharing deal.

According to leaders aware of the details, Sahani was demanding that INDIA bloc partners declare him as the deputy CM of the coalition before the polls and also was seeking 18 seats.

“The VIP gave its approval late on Thursday night paving the way for a seat deal. Yes, there are certain other assurances given to it,” said a RJD leader, in the know of the matter. Among the seats offered to VIP include Gaura Bauram, Bhabua, Aurai, Gopalpur and Darbhanga (urban), the above people said.

In 2020 assembly polls, Sahani had contested from Simri Bakhtiarpur as part of the NDA alliance but lost to the RJD.

Meanwhile, seat sharing talks between RJD and Congress still have remained inconclusive with disputes prevailing over a few seats where both the parties have staked claim including Vaisali, Benipur, Narkatiya, Jale and others.

“A piquant situation has arisen because of disputes over a few seats not getting resolved so far among RJD, Congress and CPI. In many seats, Congress and RJD have put their respective candidates or given symbols. That is the problem. One cannot have an alliance where there are two candidates in one seat from the same coalition,” said another RJD leader, who is in the know of the matter.

However, people aware of the details in the opposition bloc said a seat sharing deal may happen by Friday evening.

“We are expecting to get four to five more seats. 18 seats have already been allotted to us by the RJD and other allies in the INDIA bloc. We have no clash with any of the partners in any of the seats allotted to us,” said a senior ML leader.

The nomination for the first phase of polls will end on Friday. Till Thursday, 932 nominations were filed for the first phase on November 6 while 179 nominations have been filed for the second phase of polls on November 11.