Patna: The Opposition bloc in Bihar is in visible disarray. The Mahagathbandhan or INDIA bloc (the Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD, the Congress, Left parties and the Vikassheel Insaan Party or VIP combine) has failed to close its seat-sharing pact even as nominations ended for the first phase of Assembly elections. The alliance partners filed nominations against each other, exposing deep cracks and confusing their own cadres.
The nomination deadline for the first phase passed on Friday. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) completed its process with relatively calm coordination. Its candidate lists moved smoothly from party headquarters to the Election Commission (EC). The Mahagathbandhan looked the opposite. It could not decide who gets which seat. Each side claimed its ground. Each side fielded its own candidate.
Sources inside the alliance say the “friendly fights” have now spread across at least a dozen constituencies. The clashes include Warsaliganj, Sikandra, Tarapur, Bachhwara, Lalganj, Rajapakar and Vaishali. Leaders from both the RJD and the Congress refused to step back from their positions. Local party units have begun open rebellion. The risk is clear: split votes and advantage to the NDA.
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The Congress wants more seats and stronger presence. The RJD thinks that the Congress performance in 2020 weakened the entire alliance. Left leaders are demanding clarity on their share. VIP chief Mukesh Sahani continues to seek recognition as a deputy chief ministerial face. The bickering has reached the last minute.
The RJD headquarter in Patna remains crowded with ticket hopefuls. The Congress office is no different. Leaders have stopped appearing at their own party offices. The atmosphere inside the NDA is the opposite. After early protests, the BJP and the JD(U) have gone into campaign mode. Mini-trucks filled with campaign material are rolling out of Patna.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) has put a clear emphasis on Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) and women candidates. The BJP has dropped 17 sitting MLAs but retained most others. Together, the NDA has fielded only five Muslim candidates, four from the JD(U) and one from the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) or LJP (R). The calculation is straightforward: most Muslim votes will go to the Grand Alliance.
Within the Opposition, confusion rules. The Congress has unilaterally announced 48 names. The RJD has done the same with its list of 48. In Vaishali, the Congress nominated Sanjeev Singh while the RJD named Abhay Kushwaha. In Lalganj, the Congress put up Aditya Raj while the RJD gave the ticket to Shivani Singh, daughter of former MLA Munna Shukla. In Kutumba, RJD’s senior leader Suresh Paswan faces Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram.
An RJD insider said that “there will be at least 7-8 friendly fights on seats, and it will include Kutumba where Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram has already been given a ticket by his party”.
The Congress list includes Praveen Kushwaha (Kahalgaon), Touqir Alam (Pranpur), Rishi Mishra (Jale), Achala Singh (Chainpur) and Mohan Srivastava (Gaya Town). The RJD is still claiming Kahalgaon, a traditional Congress seat. The CPI (ML-Liberation) has announced 14 candidates of its own. The VIP, meanwhile, has listed 14 seats of its choice and plans to contest 15 in total.
VIP spokesperson Debjyoti said the party will contest 15 seats. Of these, 14 seats have been decided. Their seats include Alamnagar, Gaurabouram, Darbhanga Town, Kusheshwar Sthan, Aurai, Baruraj, Kesaria, Sikti, Nirmali, Katihar, Gopalpur, Bihpur and Lauria.
Four VIP candidates have already filed nominations. Among them is Santosh Sahani, brother of VIP chief Mukesh Sahani, contesting from Gaurabouram. Sahani himself will fight in the second phase. Four of VIP’s six declared candidates belong to the Mallah (boatmen or fishing) community.
The RJD list carries familiar names: Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (Raghopur), Osama Shahab (Raghunathpur), Bhai Virendra (Maner), Bogo Singh (Matihani), Rambriksh Sada (Alauli), Alok Mehta (Ujiyarpur), Lalit Yadav (Darbhanga), Mukesh Roshan (Mahua), Awadh Bihari Choudhary (Siwan), Shahnawaz Alam (Jokihat), Akhatarul Islam (Samastipur), Shakti Singh Yadav (Hilsa), Shailendra Pratap Singh (Taraiya), Rahul Tiwari (Shahpur) and Chandrashekhar (Madhepura). Bhojpuri singer Khesari Lal Yadav will contest from Chhapra.
Shantanu Bundela, son of former MP Sharad Yadav, has expressed anger after being denied a ticket. The RJD list includes 14 Yadavs and six Muslims.
In Delhi, sources have confirmed the final seat understanding is under discussion. The RJD will contest around 130-135 seats, the Congress about 60, the VIP 15 the and Left parties 28-29. Of these, the CPI (ML-L) will contest 18, the CPI six and the CPI (M) four.
But the picture remains unclear. The second phase nomination deadline is Monday, and the withdrawal date is October 23. If “friendly fights” continue, the Grand Alliance may face heavy losses.
The tension almost reached a breaking point this week. On Wednesday night, talks between the VIP and the RJD nearly collapsed. Sahani was ready to quit the alliance. He even planned a press conference in Patna on Thursday morning.
At that point, CPI (ML-L) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya called Rahul Gandhi late at night. He explained the situation. Sahani’s main complaint was that the RJD leadership was ignoring him. Gandhi spoke to Sahani and calmed him down. He asked him to write a letter detailing his issues. After that call, Sahani stayed in the alliance.
In his handwritten letter to Gandhi, the VIP chief wrote that “it is unfortunate to say that… was agreed between us that the VIP will be given 35 assembly seats, then the figure came down to 25 and finally to 18+2”.
He added that the issue “was not the number of seats” and that he was “ready” to go with any number decided by the alliance. “For me, it is a matter of ideology… for the socially deprived and backward section of the society,” he wrote, asking the Congress leader to intervene.
The Mahagathbandhan has so far failed to show unity on the ground. Despite the grand joint “vote adhikar yatra” led by Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav, seat confusion has replaced coordination. The next few days will decide if the alliance can pull itself together or hand the advantage to Nitish Kumar and the NDA without a contest.
