Patna: The ruling NDA in Bihar on Sunday finalized its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming polls to the 243-member assembly, in which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and BJP will contest 101 seats each, leaving the rest for smaller allies.
The announcement to the effect came on X handles of JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary, and Union minister Chirag Paswan, whose Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has settled with a deal of 29 seats.
The Hindustani Awam Morcha of Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who had been insisting on “at least 15 seats”, has been given only six seats, while Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha, who heads Rashtriya Lok Morcha, also got six constituencies.
The assembly elections will be held on November 6 and 11, and the counting will take place on November 14.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan echoed the sentiment on X, writing: “We NDA allies have completed the distribution of seats in a cordial atmosphere… All workers and leaders of NDA parties warmly welcome this. Bihar is ready, once again, NDA government.”
The announcement marks the formal beginning of the NDA’s campaign strategy in Bihar, with the alliance aiming to consolidate its support base and reclaim power in the state.
The announcement comes a day after senior BJP leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda, met with state and ally leaders on Saturday to discuss the Bihar polls. BJP state unit chief Dilip Jaiswal had indicated then that the seat-sharing formula with NDA partners would be announced by Sunday.
“All is well in the NDA and the seat share of the allies will be announced today or by tomorrow at 11 am,” Jaiswal told reporters on Saturday. “Everything has been decided in the NDA. The NDA is moving forward with firm unity. All is well. I think the central leadership will make an announcement this evening or by 11 am tomorrow.”
Ahead of the final announcement, discussions were reportedly on with Hindustan Awam Morcha (Secular) supremo Jitan Ram Manjhi and Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha, while the seat-sharing formula with JD(U) and LJP (Ram Vilas) was nearly finalized. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said all allies had expressed their views and were “happy,” with “nobody having any kind of resentment.”
HAM(S)’s national general secretary Rajesh Pandey added, “We have expressed our views before the senior leadership of the BJP… We have all the options open. There is an old saying that no one is anyone’s friend in politics, no one is anyone’s enemy.” Meanwhile, the central parliamentary board of the LJP (RV) authorized party chief Chirag Paswan to take all decisions on the party’s seat allocation.
