'Time for RJD to return the favour': JMM demands Mahagathbandhan entry with 12 seats in Bihar

Hemant Soren, JMM leader and Jharkhand Chief Minister. (File: PTI)

In a development that could spell more trouble for the Mahagathbandhan already grappling with finalising a seat-sharing agreement between the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is leant to have demanded 12 seats to contest in the coming Assembly elections in Bihar as part of the Mahagathbandhan.

The ruling party in neighbouring Jharkhand, where it shares power with allies such as Congress, RJD and CPI(ML)L, is not part of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar.

According to The Indian Express, an informal round of talks have already taken place between the JMM and RJD where the former set forth its demand for the elections to the 243-member Assembly. Formal seat-sharing talks between the two alliance partners is still awaited.

The JMM had contested five seats in the 2020 Assembly elections in the state but failed to win even one with its best performance recorded at a vote share of around 9 percent in the Chakai constituency. The party had contested the elections independently after seat-sharing talks as part of the Mahagathbandhan failed.

The JMM, however, is citing the seat-sharing formula adopted by the Mahagathbandhan in the Jharkhand Assembly elections in 2024, where the JMM had given the RJD six seats to contest and a ministerial berth after alliance came to power.

The elections to the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly saw the JMM winning 34 seats, Congress 16, RJD 4, and the CPI(ML)L 2 seats.

According to the party's Bihar general secretary Satiraman Singh, the party has handed the RJD a list of 12 "strong seats", including Tarapur, Belhar, Katoria, Chakai, Jhajaha, Dhamdaha, and Manihari.

The JMM also expects the RJD to return the favour that it extended during the Jharkhand elections. "It is time for RJD to return the favour. We are sure that RJD will include JMM in the grand alliance this time and give us a decent number of seats in the upcoming polls," a senior JMM leader told The Indian Express.

The JMM's demand, if considered, is expected to add another layer of complexity to the seat-sharing talks within the Mahagathbandhan. The Congress and the RJD are yet to make any headway in the negotiations that began last month in Patna.

While the Congress has demanded the same share of 70 seats as the previous elections, the RJD is unwilling to cede more than 50-55 seats to the party.

With 125 seats in the 243-member Assembly, the NDA had won the 2020 polls, defeating the Mahagathbandhan that could win only 110. The RJD, which emerged as the single largest party in the state, won 75 of the 144 seats it contested.

The Congress, on the other hand, could only win 19 of the 70 seats it fielded its candidates from. The CPI(ML), CPI and CPI(M), all part of the Mahagathbandhan, had contested in 19, 6 and 4 seats respectively.