Agreement on seat-sharing within the grand alliance has been reached ahead of the Bihar Assembly election. According to sources, a meeting that stretched late into the night resulted in an almost final decision on the number of seats. However, disagreements persist among the constituents regarding certain seats. A phone conversation between RJD President Lalu Yadav and the top brass of Congress helped untangle some of the seat allocation issues. It is anticipated that an official announcement on the seats will be made soon.
Sources suggest that in the grand alliance, RJD may receive 135 seats, Congress 55, VIP 18, CPI (ML) 20, CPI 6, CPM 4, JMM 2, RLJP 2, and IP Gupta 1 seat. A candidate adjustment formula will also be adopted for some seats among the partners. However, it is believed that deadlocks remain on 12 seats.
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Regarding the contentious seats, VIP claims the RJD's seats in Sheikhpura, Simri Bakhtiyarpur, Bhabua, Barhara, Mahishi, and Gaurabaram. Congress has requested the RJD's seats in Baisi, Bahadurganj, and Saharsa, while RJD claims CPI (ML)'s seats in Ghosi and Paliganj. CPI has staked a claim on RJD's Harlakhi seat. JMM is likely to secure seats in Katoria and Manihari.
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No consensus from Pashupati Paras
RLJP leader Pashupati Paras desires a seat in either Kusheshwar Sthan or Vaishali, with the condition to adjust Suraj Bhan Singh. According to sources, once an agreement is reached on these disputed seats today, the grand alliance might formally announce their seat-sharing plan on October 12 or 13. Amidst this, VIP chief Mukesh Sahni met with Tejashwi Yadav at his Polo Road residence on Saturday for an extensive discussion.
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Ongoing NDA deliberations on seat-sharing
Meanwhile, deliberations continue on seat distribution within the NDA. A meeting of senior NDA leaders is being held in Delhi today. BJP state in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, along with Vinod Tawde, Samrat Chaudhary, Dileep Jaiswal, Rituraj Sinha, and Mangal Pandey, have already reached Delhi. JDU leaders Lalan Singh and Sanjay Jha are also set to arrive in Delhi today.
Sources report that within the NDA, there is an agreement to allocate the Govindganj seat to LJP (Ram Vilas), although the BJP is still not prepared to yield the Brahmpur seat. Upendra Kushwaha is claiming the Bajpatti and Sheikhpura seats, while there is discontent from Jitan Ram Manjhi over a proposal of fewer than seven seats and he intends to meet with BJP leaders today.
