The announcement of the NDA’s seat-sharing agreement for Bihar, for which Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar is visiting the national capital, was postponed on Saturday. But all sides said there was no serious disagreement.
The much-anticipated meeting between Mr. Nitish Kumar and BJP president Amit Shah did not take place.
As the Chief Minister is to return home on Monday, the announcement is expected on Sunday. Mr. Kumar remained closeted with party leaders at his residence on Kamaraj Lane here for much of the day.
“When the number of seats to be fought by each partner has been decided, there is really no difficulty. We are confident that people will support the alliance and the work of the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar,” JD(U) Bihar president Bashishtha Narayan Singh said.
On Friday, the BJP sorted out the issues in seat allocation with the Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP). Sources said the LJP would be given five seats (out of 40) in Bihar, one in either Jharkhand or Uttar Pradesh and one Rajya Sabha seat for Mr. Paswan. Under an old agreement announced by Mr. Shah and Mr. Kumar, the BJP and the JD(U) were to contest in an equal number of seats in Bihar. With 35 seats left now, one party would have to fight in 18 and the other in 17. It may appear a minor thing, but it will disturb the principle of equality among the partners. Sources said this imbroglio prevented the announcement from being made on Saturday.
Last week, the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) walked out of the NDA and joined the UPA. This gave a sense of urgency to the NDA’s seat-sharing agreement.