Congress, RJD to cut down its tally by at least a dozen seats to accommodate allies 

The Rashtriya Janata Dal-led Mahagatbandhan in Bihar is veering towards a seat-division formula, where the two biggest parties in the coalition — the RJD and Congress — will contest fewer seats than they did in the previous Assembly election. Each party could give up at least a dozen seats to accommodate other allies, including Mukesh Sahani’s Vikassheel Insaan Party. The final formula will depend on seat-wise deliberations between the allies.

As per sources, the RJD is likely to restrict itself to 130 seats, which is 14 less than the number it fought in the 2020 election. The Congress is also likely to agree to 58 seats, a dozen less than its 2020 count. The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist), which won 12 of the 19 seats it contested in 2020, could get eight more. The tally for the other Left parties — the CPI and CPI (Marxist) — may remain the same, with the former contesting six and the latter four.

There are three new entrants in the Mahagatbandhan, or Grand Alliance — the VIP, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Pashupati Nath Paras’s Lok Janshakti Party. As per sources, the VIP could get 14 seats while the JMM and LJP may have to settle for two each.

Senior leaders from the three key constituents, the Congress, RJD and CPI(ML), however said the final seat-sharing arrangement will depend on “seat by seat deliberations”. “More than the party, we have to ensure that the candidate best suited for a constituency gets the ticket,” an RJD leader said.

The CPI(ML) quoting its strong performance in 2020 polls has laid claim to 40 seats. Many of the seats it sought were contested by the Congress and RJD in the last election.

The Congress is also sensing an opportunity for itself, with the spotlight firmly trained on Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who undertook the “Vote Adhikar Yatra” last month. Sources said it doesn’t mind getting fewer seats, but is keen that it is given “winnable” seats. The rank and file are also getting anxious about the candidate list. Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Tariq Anwar, in a post on X on Saturday said, “The announcement of the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections could happen anytime. Supporters and workers of the Congress Party are eagerly awaiting the list of candidates. It is hoped that this time, honest, dedicated, and grassroots workers will be given priority.”