INDIA bloc finalises seat-sharing pact in Bihar, RJD to contest 26 seats
RJD’s seats include Purnea, where the Congress was keen on fielding former Member of Parliament Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) on Friday finalised the seat-sharing agreement in Bihar under which Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD) would contest 26 of the state’s 40 seats, Congress nine, and the Left parties the remaining ones. RJD’s seats include Purnea, where the Congress was keen on fielding former Member of Parliament Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav.
Yadav has maintained he would not “leave Purnea”. The RJD is set to field Bima Bharti from Purnea. Bharti, who defected to the RJD from Janata Dal (United ), earlier claimed she got the ticket.
Purnea would go to the polls in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 26 and April 4 is the last date of nomination. The polls are being held in seven phases in Bihar.
RJD leader Manoj Jha said the alliance is between political parties and not individuals when asked about Yadav’s comments on his keenness to contest the Purnea seat on Congress’s ticket.
RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui announced the pact at a press conference in the presence of the Congress state chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh. Congress and Left leaders did not speak at the press conference.
The pact was finalised after a series of meetings amid reports of disagreements between RJD and Congress. Congress leaders were believed to have been unhappy over RJD’s move to unilaterally give party symbols to its candidates including for the Aurangabad seat.
Congress leader Nikhil Kumar, who was keen on contesting the Aurangabad seat, expressed his displeasure over the way RJD gave the symbol to Abhay Kushwaha even before a seat-sharing arrangement was finalised.
The allotment of the Begusarai seat to the Communist Party of India is also said to have not gone down well with the Congress.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday maintained there was no rift or tensions between RJD and Congress. “The Congress-RJD alliance is the oldest alliance. We have been together in all situations and have contested elections together. There have never been any tensions between us. We have always understood each other,” Yadav said in Delhi after meeting with Congress leader Mukul Wasnik.
Bihar sends the third most lawmakers to the 543-member Lok Sabha. The National Democratic Alliance swept the 2019 national polls in the state by winning 39 seats. The Congress managed to win the Kishanganj seat in the last national polls in Bihar. The RJD could not win a seat even as it contested 20. Congress was allotted nine seats in 2019.
