With just over 24 hours for nomination deadline, Tejashwi Yadav's ultimatum to key ally

Tejashwi Yadav

With just over a day before for the nomination for first phase of Bihar election ends, the lack of consensus among the Opposition bloc ( Mahagathbandhan) over various aspects of seat-sharing seem to widen. The initial hiccup, if it was regarding the Congress' demand of over 65 seats, the latest irritant is reported to be Mukesh Sahani, the chief of the Vikassheel Insaan Party, demanding over 25 seats.

In the run-up to the assembly polls, Sahani has been trying to pressure the Mahagathbandhan top brass for a good deal on seats. Earlier this month, Sahani claimed that he would be the Deputy Chief Minister if the Mahagathbandhan came to power in Bihar. For political expediency, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav is now believed to put his foot down, and state categorically that VIP can only get around 15 seats.

According to insiders quoted by NDTV, the Mahagathbandhan has made it clear to Sahani that this is the best deal he can get. If the VIP chief climbs down, the Mahagathbandhan may eventually seal the seat deal. If he rebels and exits the alliance, the political atmosphere is expected to heat up further.

In the 2020 Bihar polls, Sahani was initially with the Mahagathbandhan but switched to the NDA after he did not get the number of seats he demanded. As part of the NDA, VIP contested 11 seats and won four. One of its MLAs died, and the other three switched to the BJP. He later parted ways with the NDA. Sahani, reportedly has been negotiating hard for a good deal on seats. Sahani has reportedly demanded at least 25 seats in the election to the 243-member Assembly.

As per reports and  repeated indications by Rashtriya Janata Dal -- the senior partner in Mahagathbandhan, the Congress is likely to get a less number of seats than the last elections due to its performance in the 2020 assembly polls. In the last state election, the INC managed to secure only 19 out of 70 seats it contested.