Lok Sabha seat-sharing: Opposition talks flounder in Bihar as adamant Congress plays spoilsport

Seat-sharing talks within the grand alliance partners in Bihar have hit a roadblock with Congress staying adamant on its demand for 11 seats. This comes after dialogue between the Left and Congress hit a wall in West Bengal, forcing the grand old party to go solo in the state and release the names of 11 candidates which includes candidates from Raiganj and Murshidabad — the two seats that the Left has refused to part with.

In Bihar, an adamant Congress has stuck to its demand for 11 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats, reported The Indian Express. Last Friday, Bihar Congress campaign committee chairman Akhilesh Prasad Singh told reporters that the party will contest 11 seats and will soon send a list of the candidates’ names to party president Rahul Gandhi for final approval.

He added that the grand alliance in the state has worked out its seat sharing details and a formal announcement will be made in the next two to three days. As per the seat sharing formula, claimed by Singh, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of Lalu Prasad Yadav will contest 17 or 18 seats, the Congress 11 and the remaining seats will be contested by the other allies including the Left.

In 2014, the RJD had won just four seats and the Congress bagged two seats.

However, a report in IE citing sources said that RJD and CPM said it is for the Congress to decide whether the goal is to defeat the BJP or expand the party in the state. It said that the RJD is no mood to give more than eight seats to the Congress. The RJD has been arguing that the grand alliance partners will have to be given 12 or 13 seats and in such a scenario the Congress should adjust with eight seats.

The grand alliance in Bihar comprises RJD, Congress, HAM of Jitan Ram Manjhi, RLSP of Upendra Kushwaha, NCP and Left parties. Manjhi has already said that he wants a respectful number of seats to contest otherwise options are open to him.

In Patna, a close aide of Lalu said that in the last elections, the RJD and Congress had contested in 27 and 13 seats, respectively, but the alliance then had only two parties.

“Now we have to accommodate so many parties. They should at least get 12-13 seats. Both of us will have to bring down our share,” he told he daily, adding that the party has to take a final call on saving the alliance by shedding arrogance.

The IE learnt that talks between Congress and RJD have remained stuck on more than the number of seats and also over the choice of seats, such as Darbhanga, Madhubani and Motihari.

Besides accommodating the Congress in the alliance, the RJD is also facing another challenge to include the CPI and CPI(M-L) in the Mahagathbandha. The CPI is asking for Begusarai seat and the CPI(M-L) demanding Ara and Jehanabad seats. It is believed that the CPI would field former JNU students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar from Begusarai. The Congress has also backed Kumar’s candidature from Begusarai.

Interestingly, the BJP is likely to field its firebrand leader and outgoing Nawada MP Giriraj Singh from Begusarai seat. As per the seat distribution agreement among the NDA partners, the LJP will contest from Nawada seat. It is believed that Singh wanted to seek re-election from Nawada but the party has asked him to contest from Begusarai.

The RJD sources told the daily that decision to offer eight seats to Congress was taken by Lalu who is a Ranchi jail. And the RJD will not contest less than 19-20 seats.

The RJD leadership feels that eight seats for the Congress is realistic and the grand old party should accept this offer. The RJD said that Congress does not have enough winnable candidates in Bihar and it is making it a prestige issue.

“We have to accommodate other parties… Congress has been told to show a large heart in the larger interest of the grand alliance,” RJD sources told IE.

Meanwhile, the LJP took a dig at opposition unity saying grand alliance was a delusion. “Unity among the opposition is delusion. They are scared of even talking to each other,” LJP leader and outgoing Jamui MP Chirag Paswan said.

Bihar has 40 parliamentary seats. It is among the three politically crucial states where elections will be held in seven phases between April 11 and May 19. The outcome of elections in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal hold the key to the formation of next government at the Centre. Results will be declared on May 23.