New Delhi: After the successful INDIA bloc rally in Patna on March 3, Congress and RJD leaders will meet in Delhi over the next few days to finalise a seat-sharing deal in Bihar.
According to party insiders, the Congress has demanded 10 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar and hopes to get 8 or 9 seats. “The alliance meeting will take place in a few days to finalize seat-sharing. The alliance will do very well in Bihar,” AICC secretary in charge of Bihar Ajay Kapoor told ETV Bharat.
In 2019, Mohammad Jawed was the lone Congress MP from Kishanganj while the NDA won the remaining 39 seats. In 2014, the Congress had two MPs. There is also a proposal to induct Jan Adhikar Party chief Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav into the alliance and field him from the Purnia seat, however approval for the same has to come from RJD chief Lalu Prasad, said party insiders.
When Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra had entered Bihar recently, the Congress had organized a major rally in Purnia. Further, the contentious Katihar seat also needs to be discussed as the Congress, RJD and CPI-ML all want to contest from that constituency. Former Congress Working Committee member Tariq Anwar, Bihar CLP leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan besides RJD’s Ashfaq are keen to contest from Katihar.
Recently, the Congress left one MLC seat for CPI-ML in exchange for RJD’s support for state unit chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha. Though some state leaders are miffed that the Congress did not fight for the one MLC seat at a time when over 100 aspirants were lobbying for the same in Delhi, the others believe that such a give and take is needed in the eastern state to keep the alliance together against the ruling JD-U-BJP combine.
According to the disgruntled segment, RJD had agreed to give one seat each to Congress and CPI-ML and keep three seats for itself but Lalu Prasad’s party declared their candidate on the fourth seat also. According to Congress insiders, the MLC seat issue is a minor one and did not happen without the knowledge of the high command.
Party insiders say the Bihar alliance needs to be finalized by March 15, two days ahead of the INDIA rally to be staged in Mumbai on March 17. Congress president Kharge is sending letters to all the INDIA partners to attend the Mumbai rally which is being held to mark the culmination of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
“Both Rahul Gandhi and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav had set the tone for the coming Lok Sabha polls at the Patna rally. The presence of SP chief Akhilesh Yadav further boosted the alliance which can do wonders in UP and Bihar," said Ajay Kapoor.
The Congress was earlier hoping to get 5 or six seats when JD-U was part of the alliance but since Nitish Kumar joined hands with the BJP, more seats have become available for the INDIA alliance.
Read More
