E-Paper
NDA's Bihar seat-sharing announced: BJP, JDU take 101 each, Chirag's party gets 29
“We NDA colleagues have completed the distribution of seats in a cordial atmosphere,” says JDU national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha on X
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Sunday finalised its seat-sharing formula for the upcoming Bihar elections, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal-United (JDU) contesting 101 seats each, and the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) contesting 29 seats.
Here's the math of the 243 seats as divided among NDA constituents, shared on X by JDU and BJP leaders:
- Janata Dal (United) or JDU: 101
- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 101
- Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) or LJP(RV): 29
- Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM): 6
- Hindustani Awam Party (Secular) or HAM(S): 6
Also read | JDU, BJP now equal partners in Bihar: How Nitish's party lost dominant role as strike rate fell
This is a climbdown for the JDU led by CM Nitish Kumar, which contested 115 seats in the 2020 Bihar assembly election. The BJP has also come down from 110.
The Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular or HAM(S) led by Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) would be contesting six seats each.
Bihar will vote in two phases, on November 6 and 11, with the counting of votes set for the 14th. The opposition Mahagathbandhan or INDIA bloc of the RJD and Congress, plus some others, was yet to announce its sharing formula.
‘Cordial atmosphere’
"The NDA allies have completed the distribution of seats in a cordial atmosphere. All workers and leaders of NDA parties warmly welcome this. Bihar is ready and a NDA government will be formed again," Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan of the BJP posted on X.
Also read | JDU, BJP now equal partners in Bihar: How Nitish's party lost dominant role as strike rate fell
The decision came after days of intense speculation and a series of meetings.
Kushwaha had a fresh round of talks with BJP leader Vinod Tawde on Sunday afternoon.
The day started with marathon meetings of Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda with Bihar BJP core committee.
A meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the central election committee was underway on Sunday evening to finalise the candidates' list.
The first signs of a consensus on seat-sharing came on Sunday morning with Jitan Ram Manjhi expressing his unflinching support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Will stay with Prime Minister Modi till my last breath," Manjhi posted on X, highlighting a significant breakthrough in seat-sharing.
The BJP leaders aware of the developments said that HAM(S), which had been demanding no less than 15 seats, relented after it was successfully brought on board by the BJP. The NDA leaders said that the party has been allocated six assembly seats and one MLC seat, resolving a major point of contention for the alliance.
The LJP(RV) had been demanding no less than 40 seats but finally settled on 29, four more than initially offered by the BJP. The RLM had threatened to go solo in the two-phase Bihar Assembly polls if its demands were not met.
How equation is different from 2020
The JD (U) and the BJP had contested 115 and 110 seats respectively in the 2020 assembly polls and won 43 and 74, respectively. The two got a vote share of 15.39% and 19.46%, respectively. The HAM(S) by former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi contested on seven seats and won on four with a statewide vote share of 0.89%.
Of the other two present allies of the NDA, the RLM contested on 99 seats independently and lost all but managed a vote share of 1.77%. A united LJP contested on 135 seats and won one with a vote share of 5.66% at a state level.
‘Quality seats’ a factor
People familiar with the matter in the NDA said that the allies’ demand for "quality seats" was kept in mind while striking the seat-sharing deal.
They said the final list of seats would be released by October 13.
The last date of filing nominations for the first phase of polls is scheduled on November 6 and ends on October 17.
Modi will kickstart his campaign for the Bihar Assembly elections with an interactive session with BJP workers on Wednesday.
In a post on X, Modi said he would interact with BJP workers directly on October 15 under the 'Mera Booth, Sabse Majboot' (My booth the strongest) initiative.
"Our dedicated workers are working with full energy to ensure the victory of BJP-NDA in Bihar. Interacting with such dedicated workers always provides new inspiration. On October 15, I will get the opportunity to directly interact with such hard-working workers," he said, also urging the party workers to share their suggestions.
