NDA seat-sharing enters tricky terrain as JD(U) demands 50:50 formula, Chirag eyes larger role in Bihar

The JD(U) is insisting on an equal share of seats as the BJP to contest in the Bihar elections. (File: PTI)

The seat-sharing talks within the National Democratic Alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Janata Dal (United), the Lok Janshakti Party and other smaller parties is set to be a tightrope walk for the ruling alliance.

Nitish Kumar's JD(U), it is learnt, is insisting that a 50:50 formula he applied to the seat-sharing talks. Chirag Paswan's LJP(RV), on the other hand, is aiming to gain a larger foothold in the state. This, even as the BJP pushes ahead to expand its own presence and establish its dominance in a state where it has historically played second fiddle to Nitish.

The BJP is learnt to be eying 120 seats to contest for itself in the 243-member Assembly. In the polls held in 2020, the BJP bagged 74 of the 110 seats it contested. The JD(U), on the other hand, could only win 43 of the 115 seats it fielded candidates from.

Chirag Paswan's LJP, which contested the elections outside the NDA in 2020, contested from 134 seats but managed to win only 1. The party rejoined the NDA ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The Lok Sabha elections also showed the BJP and JD(U) winning 12 seats each while the LJP(RV) bagged 5 seats, and the HAM(S) bagged 1. The NDA bagged 30 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Buoyed by its Lok Sabha performance and sensing the drifting popularity of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the BJP is hoping to assert its control over the alliance. The BJP's demand to contest 120 seats, thus, reflects its intent to reduce the influence of the JD(U) in a state where it has always ruled the roost.

The JD(U), however, sensing the BJP's ambitions, is thus insisting on a 50:50 formula. "The NDA, comprising all its Bihar constituents, is gearing up to contest all 243 seats together under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. While formal seat-sharing talks are yet to begin, there is clarity and unity in our camp. In contrast, the Mahagathbandhan is riddled with internal tantrums and constituency-level chaos," Rajeev Ranjan Prasad, JD(U) national spokesperson, told News18.

He did, however, concede that the JD(U) was pushing for an equal share of seats and has cited the damage it suffered in the Lok Sabha elections where the BJP failed to gain a majority on its own.

"The JDU believes in half-and-half seat-sharing formulas. All NDA constituents are together and there is no crack over seat sharing," added Prasad.

The BJP's push for a larger share of the lie in Bihar is based on its assessment that the JD(U)'s vote bank among Muslims, EBCs and Mahadalits was eroding along with its organizational strength.

The rising spate of murders and crime have also threatened to strip Nitish of his pro-development 'Sushasan Babu' halo in contrast to the 'Jungle Raj' of the RJD that it has repeatedly based its electoral narrative on. This has only added to the JD(U)'s woes as the increasing incidents of high-profile murders raise questions on Nitish's model of governance.

The entry of Chirag Paswan's LJP(RV) has added another layer of complexity within the NDA. Having dealt a huge blow to Nitish in the 2020 polls, and now raring to spread its wings in the state, the party's strong position among Dalits further threatens Nitish's waning support base.

The JD(U) thus wants LJP(RV) to be limited to contesting no more than 20-25 seats.

Elections in Bihar are expected to be held in September-October this year. The Election Commission of India, however, is yet to announce the schedule of the polls.