RJD- led alliance in Bihar may be in a fix over seats

◗ SOURCES IN the grand alliance said that negotiations among partners were in the final stages and likely to get sorted out by mid- September. RJD and Congress will take a call on the number of seats that would be distributed to alliance partners RLSP, VIP and left parties.

Seat sharing among grand alliance partners has turned into a thorny affair as most of the political parties including smaller partners have been demanding sizable seat share for the assembly elections slated to be held this year.

Political analysts believe that Tejashwi Yadav, the political heir of RJD chief Lalu Yadav will have to leave his rigidity to end brewing resentment among grand alliance partners over the issue of seat adjustments in Bihar.

RLSP leaders in Patna recently met RJD state president Jagdanand Singh and submitted a list of seats it wanted to contest in the coming assembly elections. Sources in the grand alliance said that negotiations among partners were in the final stages and likely to get sorted out by midSeptember.

RLSP insiders told this newspaper that the party has staked claims on 48 seats which include 23 seats it contested in 2015 besides 25 other constituencies where the party claims to have a vote base. Besides, three left parties CPI, CPM and CPIML have also submitted their lists and have urged RJD to finalise the seatsharing deal without delay. Another smaller partner Mukesh Sahani of the Vikasheel Insan Party ( VIP) has also sent a list of its candidates demanding “sizeable seat share” for the party.

With Jitan Ram Manjhi in NDA fold and no clarity yet on Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik Janata Dal ( LJD), the grand alliance in Bihar comprises of RJD, Congress, Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSP, Mukesh Sahani’s VIP and three left parties ( CPI, CPM and CPI- ML).

Upendra Kushwaha with around 10 per cent voter base of his Koeri community is considered a strong player in the grand alliance. Mukesh Sahani’s Nishad community accounts for 14 per cent of the state population and the RJD’s M- Y combination forms about 30 per cent vote share ( Muslims 16 and Yadav 14 per cent).

Sources said both RJD and Congress will take a call on the number of seats that would be distributed to alliance partners RLSP, VIP and left parties. The date of their meeting is yet to be finalised but “things will be sorted out soon. There is no trouble regarding seat- sharing among the grand alliance partners”, a senior RJD leader said.

He further said that the formula will need final approval from Lalu Yadav who is serving a jail term in fodder scam case.