More the merrier? Not so for Grand Alliance in Bihar

Former National Democratic Alliance constituent Rashtriya Lok Samata Party’s (RLSP) defection to the rival camp, the Grand Alliance (GA) has left the latter facing a problem of plenty.

The GA or Mahagathbandhan is a coalition of political parties in Bihar formed before the 2015 legislative assembly elections and comprised the Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress.

Since then, the JD(U) has exited the alliance and is now part of the BJP-led NDA. And the alliance has been joined by Jitan Ram Majhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S), Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik Janata Dal, RLSP, CPI and CPM. Besides, it also has the implicit support of Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samajwadi Party.

Each of these nine parties wishes to contest on more than one seat in the 2019 parliamentary polls, with bigger allies RJD and Congress already staking claim to a larger share. Bihar sends 40 representatives to Parliament.

Incarcerated RJD chief Lalu Prasad has already announced that his party will contest 25 out of the 40 seats with others sharing the remaining 15.

Given the present political scenario where Congress has been invigorated by victories in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, it is unlikely that it will yield to the RJD’s demand.

In 2014, when Congress had only four legislators in the state, it contested 12 parliamentary seats. Today, it has 27 MLAs and is certain to want to contest more. Before switching to GA, RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha bargained hard for three seats, but the BJP and JD (U) were determined to give him only one seat.

Having snubbed by the NDA, Kushwaha is certain to stick to his demand for three seats, namely Karakat, Ujiyarpur and Khagaria. The RJD is unlikely to part with the Ujiyarpur seat as it wants to field Lalu’s close associate, Ashok Mehta, from there. Similarly, HAM (S) would like to contest two seats, Gaya and Jehanabad

The Left (CPI and CPM) is interested in contesting Begusarai and Ara. Former JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar’s electoral debut is already certain from Begusarai on a CPI ticket.

RJD insiders said SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav recently spoke to Lalu Prasad, requesting him to leave Jhanjharpur seat for his party’s Bihar unit president Devendra Yadav, who represented the constituency in the 14th Lok Sabha.

BSP chief Mayawati has evinced interest in fielding candidates from a couple of seats, including Gopalganj, which is reserved for Schedule Caste candidates. And Sharad Yadav will insist on the Madhepur seat, which he has won four times in the past. The Congress seems to believe seat-adjustment will not be a problem.

“The Congress has moved way ahead since 2014. A Congress wave is sweeping the country. We will certainly get a respectable number of seats to contest. I don’t think there will be any issue in seat sharing,” said senior Congress leader and Katihar MP Tariq Anwar.

State Congress president Madan Mohan Jha said: “We will amicably resolve all issues, including seat sharing.”

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, Congress Bihar in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil said: “There is no lust for seats among any one of us.”

RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said: “We are united in the interest of nation and Bihar, to protect constitution and save its institutions. We are united and shall remained united.”

First Published: Dec 21, 2018 07:41 IST