Bihar poll buzz triggers hectic seat talks in NDA, INDIA camp
Both major alliances in Bihar raced on Tuesday to finalize seat-sharing deals for next month’s assembly polls. The 243-seat contest triggered back-to-back meetings across Patna and Delhi. Smaller allies in both camps pushed last-minute demands, threatening to delay final agreements.
After the Election Commission announced the two-phase schedule on November 6 and 11, talks inside the NDA and INDIA blocs gained speed. The deadline for nominations for the first phase—covering 121 seats—is just ten days away.
In the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) largely stayed aligned. The two major partners plan to fight 101 and 102 seats, respectively. Yet, tension grew as smaller allies sought more room.
Union minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) demanded 15 more seats. Earlier, the party had settled for about 20–22. A senior leader said Paswan also kept communication open with Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj. “Doors remain open in politics. Options never end,” the leader said.
BJP election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, along with Vinod Tawde and Mangal Pandey, met Paswan in Delhi. The meeting aimed to cool differences and avoid another 2020-like fallout. That year, Paswan walked out of the NDA, contested alone, and hurt Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) in several seats.
Meanwhile, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) asked for 15 seats. Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samata Party sought 10. Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal said the election committee met for three hours and reviewed around 60 sitting seats. Talks on the rest will continue this week.
On the other side, the INDIA bloc also faced internal pulls. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) led the seat talks and aimed to contest around 135–140 seats. The party offered Congress 50–52, lower than its demand for 70. “The offer is less than expected, but victory matters more,” said senior Congress leader Kishore Kumar Jha. State Congress chief Rajesh Ram added that the party’s central election committee would meet Wednesday to finalize names.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav met CPI leader D Raja to smoothen talks with the Left. The Left parties expect 15–18 seats, while the CPI(ML) wants at least 30. CPI-ML leader Kumar Parvez said, “We expect a fair deal. Let’s wait for the final call.”
Mukesh Sahni’s Vikassheel Insaan Party, another INDIA ally, said seat sharing was done internally. “We’ll announce it tomorrow,” Sahni told ANI. He also took a swipe at the BJP, saying, “They ousted us three years ago. We’re ready to defeat them now.”
Separately, Prashant Kishor confirmed that Jan Suraaj will contest alone. “We’ll declare our candidates on October 9. My name will be on the list,” he told a TV channel.
Bihar’s 74.3 million voters will decide the fate of both blocs. The polls will test Nitish Kumar’s leadership and Tejashwi Yadav’s appeal—and revive the legacy battles of Mandal politics. The Election Commission said 90,712 booths will have full webcasting, with 850,000 officials on duty.
As Bihar readies for a fierce fight, both camps race against time—and against one another.
