Bihar Battle: Seat-sharing sparks chaos in NDA and Mahagathbandhan

Both the NDA and Mahagathbandhan witnessed intense late-night political drama on Monday, as seat-sharing disagreements and internal tensions threatened to derail alliance dynamics on both sides.

The NDA, which had announced its seat-sharing formula in Delhi on Saturday, was seen holding a flurry of late-night meetings. According to reliable JD(U) sources, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was reportedly upset over several of his party’s “traditional” seats being allocated to Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas).

“He (Nitish) said the agreed formula was for JDU to contest 103 seats and BJP 102, and questioned how it became 101 each?” a senior JD(U) source revealed.

The negotiations in Delhi had been handled by JD(U) national working president Sanjay Jha and Union Minister Lalan Singh, while BJP leaders Nitin Navin and Vinod Tawde rushed to Jha’s residence in Patna following Nitish's objections.

BJP leaders were told that the CM found the seat-sharing formula unacceptable — particularly the way seats were distributed to the LJP. Nitish reportedly asked the BJP to “reconsider” the arrangement.

The NDA had been scheduled to hold a joint press conference on Monday to formally announce the seat distribution, but it was abruptly cancelled.

Why is Nitish Kumar angry?

Sources within the JD(U) say Nitish Kumar is furious over certain constituencies — including sitting JD(U) seats and those where the party had finished a close second in 2020 Assembly polls — being handed over to the LJP. He reportedly cited the example of the Sonebarsa (reserved) seat, currently held by JD(U) MLA and minister Ratnesh Sada, which surprisingly appeared on the LJP's list.

Nitish reportedly pointed out that JD(U) had only agreed to concede one sitting seat — Tarapur — for Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary. He also alleged that nine other seats given to the LJP disrupted the JD(U)’s internal caste equations.

The meetings reportedly lasted well past midnight without resolution. BJP sources hinted that Union Home Minister Amit Shah may soon travel to Patna to mediate and resolve the impasse.

The seat-sharing formula, as announced in Delhi, had proposed 101 seats each for the BJP and JD(U), 29 for the LJP, and six seats each for Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLD.

Incidentally, JD(U) minister Ratnesh Sada was called late Monday night and officially handed the party symbol to contest from the Sonebarsa seat.

“When I heard my seat was given to the LJP, I thought it was fake news. But I knew Nitish Kumar would stand by me, and he did,” Sada told this correspondent. He emphasised that he had won the seat three times in a row, including a margin of over 17,000 votes in the last Assembly election.

Outside Sanjay Jha’s residence, a separate protest broke out late at night, with supporters of former minister Chandrika Rai demanding a ticket for him.

Meanwhile, former minister Jai Kumar Singh announced his resignation from the JD(U), blaming an inner caucus for sidelining him. His seat too has been allotted to the LJP.

Tensions in Mahagathbandhan too

While the NDA scrambled to resolve internal tensions, a parallel drama unfolded in the Mahagathbandhan. Soon after returning from Delhi, Tejashwi Yadav’s close aide Bhola Yadav began calling RJD candidates to collect their party symbols.

However, when Tejashwi landed in Patna on the last flight from Delhi, he ordered that the distributed symbols be returned. RJD sources claimed this was due to Rahul Gandhi’s strong objection to symbol distribution before seat-sharing talks had concluded.

The earlier “take-it-or-leave-it” seat-sharing formula within the Mahagathbandhan had allocated 134 seats to RJD, 54 to Congress, 22 to CPI-ML, 6 to CPI, 4 to CPM, 18 to VIP, 2 to JMM, 3 to Pashupati Kumar Paras’s LJP faction, and 2 to the Indian Inclusive Party.

RJD leaders are also reportedly upset with the CPI-ML for distributing symbols to its candidates, including in constituencies RJD had contested earlier.

New entrants announce candidates

On a separate front, the Jan Suraaj party headed by Prashant Kishor announced 65 new candidates on Monday, continuing its pattern of fielding professionals — including doctors, lawyers, engineers, academicians, and social workers.

Tej Pratap Yadav, elder son of Lalu Prasad and leader of the newly floated Janshakti Janata Dal, also announced two candidates. His move is being seen as a direct attempt to undercut his younger brother Tejashwi’s RJD — especially with both fielding Yadav candidates.