Seat-sharing drama in Bihar: Mahagathbandhan almost ready, NDA struggles with Chirag-Manjhi demands

Patna: With the Bihar Assembly elections officially announced, attention now turns to the seat-sharing arrangements between the two major coalitions — the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance).

While both alliances continue rounds of talks, sources indicate that the Grand Alliance has nearly finalised its seat-sharing formula.

Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani confirmed the internal consensus, stating, "Everything on seat sharing has been finalised internally. Perhaps tomorrow evening we will hold a press conference and give information."

NDA talks continue: Chirag Paswan demands 30 seats, Manjhi 15

On the NDA side, negotiations remain ongoing. A high-level meeting was held at Chirag Paswan’s Delhi residence, attended by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde, who oversees Bihar organisation, and Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey.

The meeting focused on convincing Chirag Paswan, who is reportedly insisting on 30 seats for his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). Meanwhile, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) is firm on its demand for 15 seats.

Sources say Chirag’s firm stance has increased pressure on the BJP, with Dharmendra Pradhan actively engaging with allies to resolve the deadlock.

Seat dispute delays NDA announcement

The NDA is expected to announce its seat-sharing arrangement in the coming days, but two major issues remain unresolved:

• Finalising the number of seats allotted to each party.
• Deciding which party will contest specific constituencies.

While a consensus on seat numbers has largely been reached, the distribution of key constituencies remains a challenge.

Chirag’s other demands

Besides the number of seats, Chirag Paswan’s party is keen to contest assembly seats in the Lok Sabha constituencies it won in 2024, seeking favourable areas to boost its chances.

The party recalls that in the 2015 assembly elections, when it last contested as part of the BJP-led NDA, it was allotted 43 seats. At that time, JD(U) was not in the alliance.

It had walked out of the NDA in 2020 due to its differences with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and had ended up seriously damaging the JD(U), even though it could win only one of the over 135 seats it had contested.

Election schedule

The Election Commission has announced the Bihar Assembly election dates. The 243 assembly seats will go to polls in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with vote counting scheduled for November 14.