Tussle continues in INDIA bloc in Bihar over seat-sharing formula

Patna, March 26 (IANS) The INDIA bloc in Bihar has not been able to resolve its seat-sharing problems delaying the announcement of candidates.

The RJD has announced six candidates so far, and sources have said that it is finalising many more names without consulting others in the bloc.

Sources have also said that the Congress was demanding 10 seats in the state which has led to a disagreement with the RJD. However, Lalu Prasad, on the other hand does not want to repeat his "mistake" of giving 70 seats to the Congress in the 2020 Assembly election. The Congress performed miserably and won only 19 seats.

“There is no dispute between the RJD and Congress party, but the latter is demanding more seats in Bihar and not even explaining the details of the candidates. Without discussing the profiles of candidates, how can seat-sharing be possible? RJD national president Lalu Prasad Yadav is in Delhi and negotiation will take place with the top leadership of Congress,” said Shivanand Tiwari, the national vice president of RJD.

Sources have said that the Congress is eyeing Kishanganj, Supaul, Katihar, Darbhanga, Purnea, Aurangabad, Buxar, Patna Sahib, Begusarai and Sasaram.

The RJD has already announced its candidate, Abhay Kushwaha, from Aurangabad. The party is also likely to give the ticket to Bima Bharti from the Purnea Lok Sabha seat.

Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, the Bahubali leader and four-time MP, has claimed that he will contest Purnea seat at any cost. Pappu Yadav merged his party named Jan Adhikar Party in Congress on March 20 with the aim to contest from Purnea on the ticket of the grand old party. This is an alarm bell for the RJD.

While uploading a post on social media account X, Pappu Yadav said: “I would rather die but not leave Purnea and Congress party.”

Similarly Nikhil Kumar, the former Governor of Kerala and Congress leader has opened a front against RJD as well. He wants to contest the Aurangabad seat.

“It is not a good thing to make a one-sided decision. It is demoralising for the party workers. They should respect the coalition pact,” said Ashitnath Tiwari, spokesperson of Congress in Bihar.