TIA NEWS /
PATNA: The most influential three party alliance in Bihar on Saturday released its seat-sharing list for all 243 assembly constituencies, with ruling Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal contesting 101 seats each, and Congress on 41 seats.
At a joint press conference of the grand alliance leaders in Patna, JD(U) state president Vashisht Narain Singh released the list. But none of the parties announced its contestants’ names.
“The seat identification has been completed. We have successfully identified the seats on which each one of us will contest the Bihar assembly polls,” Singh said.
RJD state president Ram Chandra Purve said they have finally reached seat adjustments for all seats and the names of their candidates would be announced soon.
As soon as the names of allotted constituencies came out in public, many sitting MLAs of the JD(U) and RJD get shocked fearing losing party symbol for the ensuing polls. The list caused widespread anger among the JD(U) MLAs as Nitish Kumar’s party has made ‘enormous sacrifice’ to accommodate the demands of alliance partners like RJD and Congress. The Congress with 41 seats, has emerged out as the most gainer among the three parties.
Besides leaving its two ‘seating’ seats- Mahua and Raghopur in Vaishali district- for RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s two sons-Tej Pratap and Tejaswi, the JD(U) has sacrificed to RJD its 26 seats and another 13 seats to Congress which JD(U) candidates had won in the last 2010 assembly elections. Thus, the JD(U) sacrificed a total of 39 seats to its two allies. In contrast, the RJD has handed over to JD(U) only two seats which Lalu Prasad’s party had won in 2010 elections. The Congress got all its five seating seats and made no sacrifice of seats either to the JD(U) and RJD.
As per the seat distribution, the JD(U) will this year contest on 79 of 118 seats (including three of LJP later merged in JD-U) it won in 2010 elections besides 18 seats won by BJP, two seats of RJD and two seats won by independents in 2010 polls. The RJD will contest on 22 seats it won either in 2010 elections or 2014 bye-elections, besides 26 won by the JD(U), 48 by BJP, one by JMM and four seats won by Independents in the 2010 polls. Similarly, the most advantageous party Congress would contest on all five seats it won either in 2010 polls or 2014 by-polls, 13 of JD(U), one of CPI and 22 won by the BJP in 2010 polls.
The five-phase Bihar polls are scheduled to be held from October 12 to November 5.