'Nothing called...friendly fight': Chirag Paswan targets Mahagathbandhan over seat clash
What's the story
Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan has slammed the opposition Mahagathbandhan for fielding candidates on common seats in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. He said, "There is nothing called as friendly fight, either you are friends or fighting with each other. The friendly conflict does not happen in politics; this is wrong terminology."
Swipe
3 RJD candidates against Congress
The swipe comes after the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) declared its list of 143 candidates. Three RJD candidates have been pitted against Congress candidates on the list. In Narkatiaganj seat, Deepak Yadav (RJD) will come face to face with Shaswat Kedar Pandey (Congress); in Kahalgaon, Rajnish Bharti (RJD) will face Praveen Singh Kushwaha (Congress); and in Sikandra (SC), Uday Narayan Chaudhary (RJD) will face Vinod Chaudhary (Congress). In Lalganj, Shivna Shukla is likely to go up against Congress's Aditya Raja.
Election forecast
NDA will win Bihar elections, says Paswan
Paswan said Mahagathbandhan will pay a big price for this seat clash. "NDA was progressing strongly, and now Mahagathbandhan has given us a walkover on many seats that appeared to be challenging," he said. Unlike Mahagathbandhan, Paswan earlier said there was complete unity within the NDA alliance. "NDA has respected all 5 of its allies and completed the negotiation. The nominations of all 243 candidates are clear....There is no confusion like the Mahagathbandhan," Paswan said.
Candidates
Opposition's seat-sharing formula
After the RJD announced 143 candidates, the Mahagathbandhan's seat-sharing formula now reads: RJD (143), Congress (55), CPIML (20), CPI (6), CPM (4), and VIP (15). The state has a total of 243 assembly seats. The 2025 Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases on November 6 and November 11. The results for the elections will be announced on November 14.