Having struck a seat-sharing deal, leaders of the JD(U) and the BJP sat across the table here on Monday to thrash out, among other things, constituencies they planned to swap or give up in favour of smaller allies in Bihar.
Both parties have decided to contest 101 seats each in the polls to the 243-strong assembly, a little less than they had fought five years ago, leaving 29 for Union minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and six each for Rashtriya Lok Morcha of Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha and Hindustani Awam Morcha founded by former chief minister, and now a Union minister, Jitan Ram Manjhi.
After the meeting that took place at the residence of JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, state minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Nabin downplayed the outbursts of Manjhi, who has been feeling “undervalued” by getting far fewer seats than Paswan, and as many as Kushwaha, even though unlike the HAM which has four MLAs, the LJP(RV) and RLM have no representation in the outgoing Assembly.
“There is no bitterness anywhere. All is well and all constituents are now busy finalising candidates so that they could file their nomination papers at the earliest,” asserted Nabin, who is himself hoping to retain Bankipur Assembly seat in Patna for a record fifth consecutive term.
On Sunday, when the seat-sharing formula was announced in Delhi, Manjhi was back in Patna, where he warned the NDA of “adverse effects” of the “raw deal” given to his party, even though he stopped short of revolting against the coalition. Asked when the BJP was likely to announce its candidates, he replied, “Give us time. It will happen soon.” Sources in the party, however, said that candidates’ names were being considered by the central leadership and upon its nod, the same will be announced here.
SBSP to contest 153 seats
In a move seemingly driven by disappointment over not being allocated a seat in the upcoming Bihar polls, the SBSP, a member of the NDA, announced on Monday that it will contest 153 seats in the state. Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) National General Secretary Arvind Rajbhar made the announcement, stating that the party will reveal its candidates for the Bihar elections at a press conference in Patna on Tuesday.
Jan Suraaj announces 2nd list
The Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraaj Party on Monday announced its second list of candidates for 65 seats for the Bihar elections. However, Kishor`s name, who is expected to contest the polls from the Raghopur seat against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, was missing from the list. Addressing a press conference, Kishor said that with this, the party has named candidates for a total of 116 seats. The CPI(ML) L also announced that it will contest 18 seats.
Nominations filing begins for 122 seats
The filing of nomination papers for 122 Bihar Assembly seats, which will go to the elections in the second phase, began on Monday, officials said. The nomination process began with the Election Commission issuing the notification for polling in these seats on November 11, they said. Nominations can be filed for these seats till October 20, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature is October 23.
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