The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has finally sealed its seat-sharing deal for the Bihar Assembly elections after several weeks of negotiations. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is in charge of the BJP's campaign in Bihar, made the announcement on X (formerly Twitter). Under the arrangement, both the BJP and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) will contest 101 seats each from the 243 seats in the state assembly.
Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) have been allocated six seats each, as revealed by Pradhan.
Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), whose seat negotiations had prolonged the talks, has been granted 29 seats.
The LJP, a major BJP ally, had initially asked for 40–45 seats, while the BJP was only ready to give 25. At one point, the LJP leaders even spoke about considering an alternative alliance with Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party.
It took several rounds of negotiations with Pradhan for Chirag Paswan to yield, according to reports.
Even though the BJP ended up giving up only one more seat to the LJP, reallocation of 26 seats meant that both the BJP and the JDU had to make concessions.
By comparison, the JDU had fought 115 seats in the 2020 Assembly election, and the BJP had put up candidates in 110.
What weighed in its favor was the LJP's demand that the seat allocation be based on its performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when it won all five of the parliamentary constituencies it fought.
The party contended that such a 100% strike rate in the Lok Sabha polls deserved a corresponding representation in the state polls.
Paswan also suggested that two assembly segments at least per Lok Sabha constituency among his party's present five Lok Sabha seats be given to LJP candidates. The party has additionally asked for seats for a number of its senior leaders.
Also Read | Bihar SIR 'purified' electoral rolls, to be replicated across country: CEC Gyanesh Kumar
