Bihar chief minister and Janata Dal (U) leader Nitish Kumar, who recently returned to the BJP-led NDA fold for the second time, will reach Delhi on March 18 for a four-day visit for seat-sharing talks.
During this visit, which comes two days after the Election Commission announced the Lok Sabha elections poll schedule, Kumar will hold discussions with top BJP leaders to decide which party will contest how many seats in Bihar, which sends 40 members to the lower house.
Kumar is expected to arrive in the national capital at around 8 pm and is scheduled to return to Patna on March 21.
The announcement regarding seat-sharing is anticipated while Kumar, who made a dramatic comeback to the BJP this January, is still in the national capital. His visit also coincides with recent meetings held in both New Delhi and Patna to determine the allocation of seats.
Five years ago, the BJP-led NDA won all six seats in Arrah, Begusarai, Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Kishanganj, and Hajipur.
No party has announced the candidates for Bihar, a Hindi heartland state crucial for national politics. According to reports, both NDA and Mahagathbandhan, which counts the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal among its members, are expected to arrive at a decision in three or four days. The rival alliances are waiting for each other's lists even as some aspirants have already started campaigning
According to the Election Commission of India's schedule released on March 16, the voting for Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats will take place in seven phases on April 19 and 26, May 7, 13, 20 and 25, and June 1. Counting of votes will be done on June 4.
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