The first phase of Bihar assembly elections will be held in three phases on October 28 and the subsequent round of polling will be held on November 3 and November 7. The ruling NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will face a challenge from the RJD-Congress alliance that has declared Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate.
While the BJP-JD(U) alliance and the Congress-RJD combine facing each other directly, some smaller parties have also joined hands to challenge the two major political forces, making the contest three-pronged on some seats.
In the outgoing assembly, the RJD has 80 members while the JD (U) has 69. The BJP has 54 seats, Congress has 25, while the remaining seats in the 243-member assembly are held by other parties.
Here are the four major alliance facing each other in Bihar election:
BJP-JDU-VIP-HAM (NDA)
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the BJP is the ruling coalition of Bihar. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is the face of the alliance. The alliance comprises Janata Dal (United), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) of former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and Mukesh Sahani-led Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).
Under the seat-sharing agreement, the BJP was allotted 121 seats out of total 243 constituencies. It allocated 11 seats to VIP from its quota and is contesting 110 seats.
The JD(U), on the other hand, was assigned 123 seats and has provided seven seats to HAM. It is contesting on 115 seats.
NDA Seat Allocation: JDU-115, BJP-110, VIP-110, HAM-7
CM Face: Nitish Kumar
Congress-RJD-Left (Mahagathbandhan)
The opposition Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) is the challenger in Bihar assembly election with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav the face of the alliance. While RJD is the biggest partner in the alliance, the Congress and three Left parties - CPI(ML), the CPI(M) and the CPI - are other constituents.
Under the seat-sharing agreement, the RJD will contest on 144 seats. The Congress has been given 70 seats while the CPI(ML) will contest on 19 seats. The CPI(M) and the CPI have been given six and four seats, respectively.
RJD's Tejashwi Yadav, former deputy chief minister and the Leader of Opposition in the outgoing assembly, is the CM face of the alliance.
Grand Alliance Seat Allocation: RJD-144, Congress-70, CPI(ML)-19, CPI(M)-6, CPI-4
CM Face: Tejashwi Yadav
Grand Democratic Secular Front
The Rashtriya Lok Samata Party and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) had earlier this month announced a new front of six parties for the Bihar polls. The alliance, named Grand Democratic Secular Front, announced RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha as its chief ministerial candidate. Besides AIMIM and RLSP, the Samajwadi Janata Dal Democratic (SJDD), headed by former Union minister Devendra Prasad Yadav, BSP of Mayawati, Suhaldev Bhartiya Samaj Party and Jantantrik Party (Socialist) are also part of the alliance.
Devendra Prasad Yadav is the convenor of the alliance.
Earlier, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM and SJDD had announced to contest together while RLSP had joined hands with BSP. The tow alliances later came together announced the decision to contest all 243 seats together. As per the seat-sharing agreement, RLSP is contesting on 104 while BSP has fielded candidates on 80 seats. AIMIM and SJDD have been given 24 and 25 seats respectively. SBSP and JPS are contesting 5-5 seats each.
Seat sharing: RLSP-104, BSP-80, SJDD-25, AIMIM-24, SBSP-5, JPS-5
CM Face: Upendra Kushwaha
Progressive Democratic Alliance
Former Lok Sabha MP Pappu Yadav's Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) and Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan's Azad Samaj Party (ASP) have joined hands to form the Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) to contest Bihar Assembly polls. MK Faizi's Social Democratic Party and VL Mathang's Bahujan Mukti Party are also part of the alliance. The alliance has declared Pappu Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate.
The alliance did not publicly declare its seats-sharing arrangement but had expressed intention to contest on all seats. JAP chief and CM alliance's candidate Pappu Yadav is contesting assembly election from Madhepura.
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