Bihar Assembly elections: BJP-JD(U) seat-sharing agreement hits last-minute hitch
What's the story
The National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections has run into a last-minute hitch. A press conference scheduled for 4:00pm on Monday to announce the deal has been called off, India Today TV reported. Reportedly, no agreement was reached despite efforts by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Dilip Jaiswal at Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha's residence.
Unresolved differences
JD(U) distributing tickets to candidates
After the joint seat-sharing announcement was scrapped, senior BJP leaders Dharmendra Pradhan and Nityanand Rai, along with Bihar Transport Minister Nitin Nabin, visited Jha's residence. They left around 9:30pm. Meanwhile, India Today cited sources as saying that JD(U) has started distributing tickets to its candidates even without a formal agreement with the BJP. Both parties have agreed to contest 101 seats each in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections but have not yet decided on constituency allocation.
Election preparations
First phase of elections on November 6
The first phase will see 121 seats going to the polls on November 6. The NDA's seat-sharing formula includes BJP and JD(U) contesting 101 seats each in the 243-member Assembly. Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will contest 29 seats while Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) will contest six seats each.
Seat distribution
HAM, RLM to contest these seats
HAM will contest Tekari, Kutumba, Atari, Imamganj, Sikandra, and Barachatti. RLM will contest Ujiarpur, Madhubani, Sasaram, Dinara, Mahua, and Bajpatti. Pradhan said NDA allies in Bihar welcomed the seat allocation, and talks were held in a cordial atmosphere. This is the first time JD(U) is not contesting more seats than the BJP in an assembly election.