The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming elections, set for November 6 and 11, for the 243-member assembly. Both Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest 101 seats each, while the remaining 41 seats are allocated to smaller coalition partners.
As part of this arrangement, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), led by Union Minister Chirag Paswan, has secured 29 constituencies. The Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), under Jitan Ram Manjhi, will contest six seats, while Rashtriya Lok Morcha, led by Upendra Kushwaha, will also field candidates in six constituencies.
This allocation signifies a shift in the political landscape of Bihar, marking the first time since 2005 that the JD(U) will not contest more seats than the BJP. This development highlights the BJP’s growing influence in state politics and the JD(U)’s declining stature within the alliance.
Expressing confidence in the coalition, BJP’s Bihar poll in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan stated that all partners reached their decisions “in a cordial manner.” He added, “Bihar is ready for another NDA government.” These sentiments were echoed by leaders from the JD(U) and other coalition members, who described the talks as “amicable and unanimous.”
Jitan Ram Manjhi, who initially faced dissatisfaction regarding the allocated seats, later accepted the agreement positively. He remarked, “We are satisfied with what we have received… I will stay with Prime Minister Narendra Modi till my last breath.”
The seat-sharing agreement comes after the strained relations witnessed during the 2020 assembly polls when JD(U) contested 115 seats and BJP 110 seats. At that time, JD(U) won only 43 seats while the BJP secured 74, which strained their alliance and led to brief turbulence regarding Nitish Kumar’s position within the NDA.
This year’s Bihar Assembly elections will occur in two phases, with the first phase on November 6 and the second on November 11, while the counting of votes will take place on November 14.
