Uncertainty over seat-sharing within the opposition INDIA bloc persisted on Sunday –– a day before the deadline to withdraw nominations for first phase of Bihar assembly elections is set to end –– with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and the Left still engaged in high-level talks to resolve the issue of multiple nominations filed in at least 11 contentious seats, people aware of the matter said.
The deadline to withdraw nomination papers for 121 of the 243 seats set to go to polls on November 6 will end at 3pm. As per updated list of nominations, a total of 1,375 nominations were accepted till late on Sunday.
Till Sunday night, the Congress had named its candidates on 54 seats across both phases, while the RJD, which had been informally allotting its symbols to hopefuls, is yet to formally release its list but its leaders have filed nominations in at least 60 seats. The Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP)’S Mukesh Sahani had recently announced on X that his party would contest 15 seats, while the Communist Party of India (Marxist–leninist) Liberation (CPI-ML) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) have each nominated candidates for 20 and nine seats, respectively.
According to people familiar with the matter, one of the key points of contention among the allies remained the multiple nominations filed by leaders of the alliance partners on Lalganj, Vaishali, Rajapakar, Rosera, Biharsharif, Bachhwara, Tarapur, Kahalgaon, Chainpur,
{{/usCountry}}According to people familiar with the matter, one of the key points of contention among the allies remained the multiple nominations filed by leaders of the alliance partners on Lalganj, Vaishali, Rajapakar, Rosera, Biharsharif, Bachhwara, Tarapur, Kahalgaon, Chainpur,
{{/usCountry}}Gaura Bauram and Kargahar. Seat-sharing talks for Kutumba are still on among the INDIA bloc allies as both the RJD and the Congress have given symbols to their nominees for the two seats. Of these, only seven are going to polls in the first phase.
“Talks are going on among all partners –– the RJD, the Congress, the CPI and the VIP. There would be one round of talks among the allies on Sunday night to resolve the issue of duplicacy of nominations in several seats. If it’s resolved, there would not be any dispute over seats, If the talks fail, the possibility of allies contesting against each other in more than five seats cannot be ruled out,” a senior leader of the Opposition bloc said, requesting anonymity.
In Lalganj, the RJD has fielded Shivani Shukla, daughter of former MLA Munna Shukla, while the Congress has nominated Aditya Kumar Raja. In Vaishali, RJD’S Ajay Kushwaha is up against Congress’s Sanjeev Singh, while the Congress has
fielded Pratima Kumari against CPI (ML) Liberation nominee Mohit Paswan in Rajapakar. In Rosera, the Congress has fielded BK Ravi and the CPI has named Lakshman Paswan. Both Congress’s Umer Khan and CPI’S Shiv Prasad Yadav, popularly known as Sardarji, have filed nominations for Biharsharif, while Congress’s Prakash Das is up against CPI’S Awadhesh Kumar Rai in Bachhwara. RJD’S Arun Sah is in direct contest with VIP candidate Sakaldeo Bind in Tarapur. In Kahalgaon, RJD’S Rajnish Yadav is pitted against Congress’s Praveen Singh Kushwaha. In Chainpur, RJD’S Braj Kishore Bind has filed his nomination, while VIP’S Bal Govind Bind has also got a ticket for the same seat but is yet to file his papers.
In Kargahar, too, the CPI has fielded Mahendra Gupta against the Congress’s Santosh Mishra. “We had put our candidates from Rosera but his nomination was rejected. We appeal to the Congress to immediately restore coordination in the alliance for its victory,” CPI’ state secretary Ram Naresh Pandey said. Gupta will file his nomination tomorrow as CPI candidate, Pandey said.
In the Gaura Bauram seat, the RJD has officially announced that it will not field any candidate in the seat as part of its pact with the VIP.
However, leaders familiar with the matter said the possibility of a “friendly contest” could not be ruled out, as RJD’S Afzal Ali Khan has already filed his nomination for the seat—scheduled to go to polls in the first phase—and had not withdrawn it till Sunday night.
A senior Congress leader said that the party has already allotted symbols to 59 candidates, of which 54 names have been declared, while a “wait and watch” policy is being adopted over the Kutumba seat. “If the RJD puts its candidate from the Kutumba seat from where state Congress president Rajesh Kumar Ram will also file his nomination, then there would be ‘friendly fights’ between RJD and Congress in four seats. The same would also happen in other seats where CPI and other parties have given candidates against Congress,” the senior Congress leader said.
The Bihar Congress media department head, Rajesh Rathore, also said that the disputes on seats would be resolved by the last date of withdrawal.
The RJD has remained firm in its stance, arguing that its candidates have a significantly higher winnability quotient compared to the Congress nominees, and therefore, the grand old party should concede both seats.