Deadlock continues: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with other leaders of the grand alliance during a rally in Patna in July.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagatbandhan (grand alliance) failed to announce its seat-sharing formula for the upcoming Bihar Assembly election on Monday (October 13, 2025), despite at least two rounds of meetings between the top leadership of RJD and Congress in the national capital.
Also read: Bihar election updates on October 13, 2025
The ruling NDA on Sunday (October 12, 2025) had announced the number of seats that it would be contesting with its top constituents — BJP and JD(U) — for the first time placing each other on equal terms. Both will contest 101 seats in the State, which has a 243-member Assembly.
The grand alliance, meanwhile, continues to struggle at an acceptable formula. According to sources, the Congress has asked for 70 seats, the same number as they had fought in the 2020 Assembly election. Arguing that the number of constituents in the coalition has increased and therefore the 2020 formula cannot be implemented in this election, the RJD has offered Congress 58 seats. “We are flexible and we hope others reciprocate with the same gesture,” a senior RJD leader said.
In a huddle
To avoid media attention, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav along with Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Yadav met Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, Congress’s Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru and Congress State president Rajesh Ram at Congress Rajya Sabha MP Phulo Devi Netam’s residence. The meeting lasted for one-and-a-half hours.
Later in the day, Mr. Tejashwi also met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Mr. Venugopal and Mr. Allavaru were present at the meeting. The former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister was also slated to meet Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, but with the impasse continuing that meeting was not held. Mr. Gandhi is leaving for Chandigarh on Tuesday, and there is no clarity on whether Mr. Tejashwi would meet Mr. Gandhi before his departure from New Delhi.
The leadership of both parties remained tight-lipped about the negotiations, but insist that the differences will be ironed out soon. “Our efforts is to ensure Bihar gets a good government,” Mr. Allavaru told reporters adding that the Congress will release its list of candidates when the seat-sharing arrangement is finalised.
Meanwhile, CPI(ML) has started the process of filing nominations for its candidates. They have been offered 19 seats, which is the same number as they fought for in 2020, with RJD declining their claim of 30 seats. The party is considering the option of contesting more than 19 seats, some of them outside of the alliance.
Published – October 13, 2025 10:09 pm IST
