Accommodates all parties that matter in Bihar
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Our Correspondent / PATNA
MAHAGATBANDHAN, the Grand Alliance today consolidated it position in Bihar with finalizing its seat-sharing plan and list of candidates in the state.
While the RJD will be contesting on 20 seats, the Congress will field its candidates for nine seats. Upendra Khuswaha’s RLSP Similarly, the Rashtriya Lok Samata RLSP will contest five seats, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) on three seats, Vikashseel Insan Party (VIP) on three seats while the CPI-ML will contest on One seat from RJD quota.
According to reports, the talks between the Congress and RJD came under severe strain with the Congress demanding at least 11 out of Bihar’s 40. The 11-seat demand was already a climb down as it had initially wanted to contest on 15.
Contrary to expectations, Kanhaiya Kumar, who was hopeful of a ticket from Begusarai, has not found a place. However, the RJD has given one seat to CPI(ML) from its own share of seats.
Reports had earlier suggested that the RJD is likely to contest around 20 seats, leaving the rest to smaller allies such as the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) and Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD).
“This is not an alliance of parties but a natural grouping aimed at fighting for social justice and preserve secularism,” RJD’s Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha told a Press conference in Patna on Friday.
The four seats going to polling in the first phase, Gaya and Aurangabad have gone to HAM, Nawada will be contested by the RJD while RLSP will contest the Jamui seat. HAM chief Jitan Ram Majhi will contest from Gaya.
In 2014, BJP had won 22 seats in the state. This was followed by LJP’s six. JD (U), which had then fought the polls separately, had managed to win just two seats. The RJD had won four seats followed by the RLSP and Congress’s three and two seats, respectively. Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had won one seat.
In 2014 general elections, the Congress bagged 8.56 percent seats with RJD getting 20.46 percent votes. The BJP and JD(U) on the other hand got 52.4 percent votes.