Patna, New Delhi:
The Grand Alliance in Bihar has reached an agreement on the distribution of the state’s 40 Lok Sabha seats. Sources said that under the deal, Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal will contest 26 seats, the Congress 9 seats, the Left parties five, of which the CPIML will contest three seats.
The parties will hold a meeting in Delhi tomorrow to take a final call to the constituencies after which the formal announcement will be made from Patna, sources said.
Key leaders from all parties will be present at the meeting in Delhi tomorrow. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and the Gandhis are likely to attend the meeting, sources said.
The Congress had contested nine seats in 2019 too. The party won only one seat. The RJD failed to win any. The NDA had won 39 of the 40 seats, with the BJP winning 17, Nitish Kumar’s Janta Dal United just one seat behind, and Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party all six they contested.
This time Nitish Kumar is back in the NDA after a brief stint in the Grand Alliance. The BJP has also retained Chirag Paswan despite the division in his party and their initial support for his rebel uncle, Pashupati Paras.
The announcement is due soon as the filing of the first phase of nomination in Bihar ends on Thursday – the extra days are due to an extended government holiday for Holi.
Last week, the NDA formally announced its share of seats in Bihar, where the BJP took pole position and contested 17 seats.
Mr Kumar’s JD(U), which previously dominated the alliance in the state, will contest on 16 seats. The Lok Janshakti Party will contest on five seats, while Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM will get one seat each.