Lok Sabha polls 2019: Taking stock of alliances across states

File image: Twitter/@INCMaharashtra

The Election Commission of India (EC) on March 10 announced schedule for the general elections to constitute the 17th Lok Sabha.

The election will be held in seven phases. Counting of votes will be held on May 23.

A month before the nation goes to polls, some of the alliances, especially in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) camp, have been sealed, while alliances in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) camp are still taking shape.

According to reports, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on March 12 in Gujarat will give shape to the UPA's seat-sharing pacts, but till then, here's a look at all the alliances which have been sealed so far.

The way to Delhi goes through UP, and for good reason: the state has the highest number of Lok Sabha seats at 80. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in alliance with the Apna Dal and the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), both of which have been bickering allies and have given the BJP a difficult time in recent days.

The Congress is going it alone in the polls, while the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) have stitched up an alliance in the state. SP and BSP will contest on 38 and 37 seats respectively, while the RLD has been given three seats to contest from.

Maharashtra has the second highest number of seats at 48, and the BJP here announced its alliance with the Shiv Sena after much speculation. BJP will contest on 25 seats while the Sena would be fielding candidates from 23 seats. Smaller parties, such as the Republican Party of India (RPI), headed by Ramdas Athawale, will be accommodated from within either the Sena or the BJP's quota.

The Congress, which is in alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is yet to announce its seat-sharing pact. The Congress-NCP alliance also includes Swabhiman Paksha, and the opposition alliance is in talks with Prakash Ambedkar’s Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM). The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), headed by Asaduddin Owaisi, is also a major player in the state, and is in alliance with the BBM.

In West Bengal, which has 42 Parliamentary seats, it's a season of going alone till date. While there are talks of Congress aligning with the Left, no announcement has been made yet. This effectively leaves the Congress, Trinamool Congress, the Left and the BJP to contest alone in the crucial state.

Bihar was one of the first states where the NDA finalised its seat-sharing pact. The heartland state has 40 Lok Sabha seats, out of which the BJP will contest on 17 and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) will contest on 17 seats. The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Ram Vilas Paswan will contest on six seats.

The Grand Alliance in Bihar comprises Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Lok Janata Dal (Sharad Yadav), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Vikasheel Insan Party (VIP) and former NDA allies Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP). The Mahagathbandhan in Bihar is yet to announce a seat-sharing pact.

Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha seats, where the BJP sealed an alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The BJP will contest on five seats, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) will contest on seven while the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) will contest on four seats. The rest will be contested by the AIADMK.

The Congress announced its alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on February 20, with the grand old party contesting on nine seats and DMK on 20. The rest of the seats have been divided between other smaller allies.

Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats, and the BJP would be going it alone in the crucial southern state. The Congress has been in alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular), though various reports have indicated that the alliance, one of convenience from the start, is on tenterhooks. The parties have not announced a seat-sharing pact yet.

Andhra Pradesh, where assembly polls are also scheduled, has 25 Lok Sabha seats.

The BJP has not announced an alliance in the state yet, while Congress' Oommen Chandy had earlier announced that Congress would be contesting on all the 175 Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state, effectively ruling out an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Congress-TDP had contested together during the Telangana assembly polls, but had suffered defeat.

This would mean that Andhra would witness a three-cornered fight, with YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) also in the arena.

After the exit of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the NDA in Assam now has three allies, including Bodoland People's Front (BPF), Rabha Jatiya Aikya Manch (RJAM) and Tiwa Jatiya Aikya Manch (TJAM). Assam has 14 Lok Sabha seats.

The Congress has allied with the United People's Party (UPP) while the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) will also be entering the arena in Assam.

The seat-sharing pacts for NDA and the UPA have not yet been announced.

In Jharkhand, the BJP is in alliance with All Jharkhand Students' Union (AJSU), which will contest from one seat while the BJP will contest from the remaining 13 seats.

The Congress will contest on seven seats in alliance with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which will contest on four while the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) and RJD have been given two and one seat each respectively.

Telangana has 17 Lok Sabha seats, with the BJP going it alone and Congress contesting the elections in alliance with the TDP, CPI and the Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS).

The Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS), which swept the recent assembly polls, will be looking to ride on the prevailing sentiment to win the most number of Parliamentary seats in the state.

Punjab has 13 Parliamentary seats, out of which the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will contest on 10 seats in alliance with the BJP, which will contest on three.

While there was speculation regarding a Congress-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alliance in the state, Congress has not announced any tie-up yet.