NDA Finalizes Bihar Seat-Sharing: BJP, JD(U) To Contest 101 Seats Each, LJP Gets 29

Patna: NDA on Sunday announced its seat share deal with BJP and JD (U) getting 101 seats each, while union minister Chirag Paswan`s LJP (RV) will contest 29 seats in the elections to the 243-member assembly.

Under the deal, union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi`s HAM and former union minister Upendra Kushwaha`s RLM will contest six seats each. In the seat share deal, NDA`s allies not only focused on number of seats but also on the quality seats, where the winnability factor was also given a priority.

The seat-sharing deal follows extensive deliberations in Delhi and Patna involving senior NDA leaders, including BJP election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, Vinod Tawde, and Nityanand Rai, as well as interactions with LJP, RLM, and HAM leadership. LJP chief Chirag Paswan, who had initially demanded 40 seats, agreed to the reduced share of 29 seats.

It will be the first time that BJP and JD (U) will contest equal number of seats since 2005. In the October-November 2005 Bihar assembly polls, JD (U) contested 139 seats and BJP 102 seats. In the 2010 assembly election, JD (U) contested 141 seats while BJP 102 seats. In 2015, JD (U) contested assembly polls with RJD and its allies. In the 2020 assembly polls, JD (U) contested 115 seats while BJP 110 seats.

With BJP and JD (U) agreeing to contest polls on equal numbers this time, both parties want to give a clear message to the electorate that there is no dispute over issues like who is the big brother in the alliance in Bihar.

In the present seat share deal, Chirag emerged as a “big gainer” as he finally got 29 seats even when BJP had initially offered him 26 seats. To satisfy Chirag`s demands, BJP has even reportedly conceded its some sitting seats to him. LJP (RV)`s strike rate was 100 percent in the last Lok Sabha election as it won all five seats it contested.

On the other hand, Manjhi`s HAM, which had contested seven seats in the last assembly election, had to contend with six seats even when it was demanding 15 seats.

Manhi asserted that his party had no objection to being allotted six seats. He said that the NDA high command took a decision in this regard.

“In the Parliament, we were given only one seat, were we upset? Similarly, if we got only six seats, it is the decision of the high command. We accept it… We are content with what we have been given. I have no complaints,” he remarked.

JD (U) national working president Sanjay Jha commented on ‘X’, "We NDA colleagues have completed the distribution of seats in a cordial atmosphere. JDU - 101 BJP - 101 LJP(R)- 29 RLM - 06 HAM - 06. Leaders and worker comrades of all NDA parties welcome this with joy and are resolved and united to make Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ji CM again with a massive majority. Bihar is ready, NDA government again.”

BJP leaders Dharamendra Pradhan, Vinod Tawde, LJP (RV) leader Chirag Paswan, RLM leader Upendra Kushwaha also declared the seat share deal on social media, adding that the deal was struck in a cordial atmosphere