The seat-sharing talks for the upcoming Bihar elections within Mahagathbandhan alliance constituents Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress could be nearing closure with the former likely to retain the number of seats it contested in the last Assembly elections held in 2020.
The Congress, which has been pushing to contest the same number of seats as last time, may have to contend for a much lesser number, The Indian Express reported, citing sources.
In the 2020 polls, the RJD contested 144 seats while the Congress fought in 70. While the RJD bagged 75 of the 144 seats it contested, the Congress' strike rate was far lower at 19.
Other parties who contested as part of the alliance included CPI(ML), CPI and CPI(M) which contested 19, 6 and 4 seats, respectively. The CPI(ML) had the best strike rate among the allies, winning 12 of its 19 seats.
Unwilling to leave anything to chance, the RJD, which fell short of coming to power despite emerging as the single largest party in the previous elections, has offered not more than 50-55 seats to the Congress against the latter's demand for 70 seats.
A senior RJD leader privy to the negotiations said that while it was natural for any ally to contest the number of seats it did the last time, the alliance has expanded to include parties like Mukesh Sahni’s Vikassheel Insaan Party and Pashupati Kumar Paras’s Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, which it also needs to accommodate.
"We have tried to reason with the Congress that, as the second largest partner, it has to share the burden. There is an understanding developing and hopefully things will be concluded soon to everyone’s satisfaction," the RJD leader told the Indian Express.
On the back of its strong performance in the last elections and an increase in its vote share in the Lok Sabha elections last year, the RJD is determined to retain moist of the seats it contested last time and is pushing for a minimum number of 140 seats for itself.
"We would be happy if the Congress accepted 50 seats. But we will accommodate to whatever extent possible. Most likely a deal should be reached on 58-60 seats for the Congress," another RJD leader said.
The RJD has, however, dismissed the perception that the Mahagathbandhan fell short of a majority primarily because it conceded too many seats to the Congress. An RJD leader said that the seats allotted to Congress in the last elections were neither "very strong" nor those where the RJD had performed exceptionally well in the past.
"But, yes, we would like to contest 135-140 seats as we believe we have a good chance of forming the next government," the leader said.
Mahagathbandhan sources also said that there was increased pressure from the Left parties to be allotted a higher number of seats since the last time. VIP's Sahni, who has been pushing for 60 seats in public, may have to settle for a maximum of 12 seats. It had contested 11 seats as part of the NDA and won 4 in 2020.
Similarly, Pashupati Paras who was part of the NDA the last time has now crossed over to the Mahagathbandhan and is likely to get 2-3 seats.
The RJD has, however, ruled out accommodating Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM in the alliance, fearing that its inclusion may damage its prospects in the rest of the state more than the advantage it can deliver in the Seemanchal region. The AIMIM won 5 Assembly seats in Bihar in 2020, but four of its MLAs later switched to the RJD.
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