Bihar Election 2020: JD(U)-BJP reach 122-121 seat-sharing deal

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on October 6 announced its seat-sharing plan for the 2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly polls, with Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) almost evenly splitting the number of seats they would be contesting.

While the BJP will contest 121 seats, the JD(U) will field candidates from 122 constituencies, pocketing an extra seat. Other allies such as former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) would contest seven from JD(U)'s quota.

The state assembly has a total of 243 seats.

Announcing the same, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, "JD(U) has been allotted 122 seats. Under that quota, we are offering seven seats to HAM. BJP has 121 seats. Talks are underway, BJP will allot seats to Vikassheel Insaan Party under their quota."

The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), another NDA component, has announced it will not contest the assembly polls in alliance with the JD(U) citing 'ideological differences'. However, the party maintains that it remains with the NDA at the national level. Stating that "LJP shares a strong alliance with the BJP," the Chirag Paswan-led party will field its candidates only against the JD(U), reports suggest.

At the event organised to announce the seat-sharing plan, BJP’s Bihar unit chief Sanjay Jaiswal reiterated that the alliance was fighting the election under Nitish Kumar’s leadership and “whoever accepts Nitish Kumar's leadership will be part of NDA gathbandhan.”

On September 25, the Election Commission had announced that polling will happen in three phases starting October 28, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The counting of votes is scheduled for November 10.

The term of the state’s Legislative Assembly is scheduled to end on November 29.

As many as 71 constituencies will head for polls in the first phase on October 28. This will be followed by voting in 94 constituencies in the second phase on November 3 and across 78 seats in the final phase on November 7.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and its allies, including the BJP, are aiming to retain power in the state. The ruling coalition is being challenged by the ‘Grand Alliance’, or the ‘Mahagathbandhan’, comprising Tejashwi Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and other smaller parties. Yadav is the opposition alliance’s chief ministerial candidate.

The Congress is contesting 70 seats, Communist Party of India (Marxist) on four, Communist Party of India on six, Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) on 19 and the RJD from 144 constituencies.