The Mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar is facing a “conflict” over a seat-sharing deal for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress and the Left claiming some of the same seats, according to sources.
The elections to the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar will be held in seven phases on April 19, 26, May 7, 13, 20, 25 and June 1, according to the Election Commission of India’s schedule for the national polls.
The sources told India Today TV that the RJD is certain to contest on 28 seats, Congress on nine and the Left on three.
But the RJD and Congress are facing a “conflict” on the East Champaran, Nawada, Hajipur and Gopalganj seats.
Meanwhile, the Katihar seat is also claimed by the RJD, Congress and Left and it is left to see if the Begusarai seat will be given to the CPI, the sources said.
Begusarai and Hajipur are also priority seats for the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance as it is eyeing another win after its clean sweep in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Union Ministers Pashupati Kumar Paras and Giriraj Singh currently represent the Hajipur and Begusarai seats, repectively.
This latest comes as RJD leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav is heading to Delhi today to participate in the final seat-sharing talks with the Congress and Left and “find a solution to the conflict”.
On Sunday night, he addressed the concluding programme of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai, during which he said that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi “tried to deliver a message which is quite significant in today’s days…To save India’s Constitution, brotherhood and to defeat hatred”.
Earlier in the day, Tejashwi Yadav told the ANI news agency, “We are very confident and have made all arrangements for the Lok Sabha elections. This time, the election outcome in Bihar will shock everyone.”
“What has the Central government done for Bihar in these last 10 years? The work that was done in 17 months, was not done in the last 17 years. Bihar did not get a special package and the work done by the BJP-led NDA was criticised by many, including the Chief Minister,” he added.
In February, three MLAs of the Mahagathbandhan resigned from the primary membership of their parties.
Of the three, two were from the RJD and one from Congress.
Their resignation came as a major jolt to the alliance just before the Lok Sabha elections.
Source Agencies
