The Mahagathbandhan led by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-Congress alliance has been facing a hard bargain over seat distribution from its constituent partner, Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), led by Mukesh Sahni. The party had contested 11 seats in the 2020 assembly elections, as a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance. Now, being a part of Mahagathbandhan, Sahni is demanding more to expand his electoral territory.
According to sources, the VIP leadership is dragging its feet and hasn't been able to arrive at common terms with the alliance, which has led to the delay in the official announcement of the seat sharing. Party insiders suggest that both parties, Congress and RJD, have decided to give up around dozen or more seats to accommodate VIP.
A senior Congress leader said, "There is no decision yet as to how many seats the two parties will give up on. But they will contest fewer seats than last time. RJD, which contested 144 seats last time, could contest around 130 seats and Congress, which fielded candidates in 70, may contest fewer than 60 seats."
According to party leaders, the Mahagathbandhan is treading carefully on seat-sharing in Bihar, with alliance partners engaged in long discussions and the assessment being done over which party can best reclaim lost ground. Constituencies where the alliance lost last time are being closely examined, with both margin of defeat and caste equations being taken into consideration. "The idea is to allocate seats to the partner who is strong enough to secure victory on a particular seat," a leader said.
For instance, in the 2020 Bihar Assembly polls, RJD won 75 seats while Congress secured 19, and the alliance lost many of the seats in close contest, restricting it from forming the government. This time, around 115 seats that the alliance had already won in the 2020 assembly elections will be scrutinised less, while those it failed to win will see deeper negotiations.
A VIP leader said, "The VIP will remain with the Mahagathbandhan as they need an EBC face. The focus right now is on which party has the maximum potential to mobilise votes in specific constituencies, which is why finalising the deal is taking longer."
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Notably, the alliance is working on candidate selection and focusing on fielding candidates who will better be able to deal with ground realities. "There is a churn on ground. It is visible that a section of Backward castes, who had voted for NDA in the past, are willing to vote for the Mahagathbandhan this time." A Congress MLA said, "But, candidate selection is very important. If the candidates are not acceptable on ground and social equations are not considered enough, all the momentum the Opposition has gained would mean nothing."
Moreover, Congress will also increase the representation of OBCs. For example, in the last election, out of 70, OBCs who received only around five tickets earlier, may get around a dozen in the upcoming round of seats. Similarly, 12 tickets were given to Muslim candidates, but this time, the number is expected to rise. The focus is on ensuring proportionate representation across communities, which leaders argue will be an improvement over the past. "Unlike the previous distribution, the new formula is not expected to be dominated by upper castes in Congress," a Congress leader said.
RJD and Congress may have settled most differences; now the only question is of accommodating Vikassheel Insaan Party. In 2020, VIP contested 11 seats with the BJP, but a section of alliance leaders believe it should not receive more than that this time as well. Yet, the negotiations continue as the Mahagathbandhan seeks a balanced seat-sharing formula. |
