The Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) is set to hold a crucial meeting in Delhi on Monday to deliberate on its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi Yadav, along with leaders of smaller alliance partners, have reached Delhi to hold discussions with the Congress leadership on the allocation of seats.
The meeting comes amid growing pressure on the opposition bloc to reach a consensus, after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) formally announced its own seat-sharing formula.
Earlier on Sunday, Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahni, a Mahagathbandhan ally, admitted that the alliance is grappling with internal differences.
“Mahagathbandhan has become a bit unwell. We are going to Delhi, and all the doctors are in Delhi, so better treatment will happen there. We will return to Patna after getting healthy,” Sahni said humorously before leaving for the national capital.
However, Bihar Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan sought to downplay the rift, asserting that the alliance remains intact.
“A meeting will be held, and everything will be finalised. The Mahagathbandhan is united, and the current corrupt government is certain to go,” he stated.
Meanwhile, under the NDA’s seat-sharing pact, Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the BJP will contest 101 seats each, while Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has been allotted 29 seats. The Hindustani Awam Party (Secular) led by Jitan Ram Manjhi and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) will contest six seats each.
The elections for the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly will be held in two phases — on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes on November 14.
