Five assembly constituencies of Bihar have emerged as the source of seat-sharing discord between Congress and its allies in the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) in the state.
Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Left parties have eyes on these seats and are staking claims, fuelling the tiff that is delaying them from reaching a consensus ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Aunrangabad, Begusarai, Katihar, Purnia, and Siwan are the seats where disagreements have kept the Mahagathbandhan allies from reaching a seat-sharing arrangement, India Today has learnt.
The RJD has unilaterally distributed party symbols to its candidates. A move that has specifically rattled Congress is the RJD awarding the party symbol to Abhay Kushwaha from Aurangabad, who recently switched from the Janata Dal (United). Congress demanded a ticket for former Nagaland and Kerala Governor Nikhil Kumar.
The Lalu Prasad Yadav-led RJD, meanwhile, has hit back at Congress regarding symbol distribution, blaming the latter for not sharing its preferred seats for better coordination. Nikhil Kumar reminded the RJD of “coalition dharma” over the matter.
Besides Aurangabad, Congress and the RJD are in a dispute in Begusarai seat as well. Amid this, the Communist Party of India (CPI) took a unilateral decision and announced Awadesh Rai as its Lok Sabha candidate from the constituency.
In Purnia, Congress has demanded a ticket for Pappu Yadav – an RJD turncoat – while Lalu Prasad’s side wants Rupauli MLA Bima Bharti to contest. Bharti joined the RJD on Sunday (March 24) after quitting the JD(U).
The seat-sharing consensus is stuck between Congress and the RJD in the Siwan seat as well. Lalu Prasad’s party has demanded a ticket for former Bihar Assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary. According to sources, the CPI and CPI(ML) are also striving for the Siwan seat.
Congress has staked a claim in Katihar constituency as well, with the aim of fielding Tariq Anwar – who returned to the party in 2018 after being expelled over 19 years ago. However, the RJD has its eyes on the Katihar seat too.
The CPI, meanwhile, has staked claim in Jehanabad, Madhubani and Banka seats, even as the party has commenced declaring its candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. Besides Awadesh Rai from Begusarai, the CPI has announced Santosh Kumar as its candidate from Khagaria.
Lok Sabha elections to the 40 seats in Bihar will be held in seven phases on April 19, 26, May 7, 13, 20, 25, and June 1, according to the scheduled released by the Election Commission of India.