Mahagathbandhan Finalizes Seat-Sharing Formula in Bihar Polls after Hectic Parleys

Vikassheel Insaan Party remains part of the board following almost a walkout; allies seek to be united against NDA.

Having gone through days of tight negotiations and in-fighting, the opposition Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) in the state of Bihar has allegedly arrived at an agreement on the issue of seat-sharing between the two parties that has hounded the state since long. The negotiations which included various closed-door conferences of major leaders ended late on Wednesday night with the partners jointly coming up with a general formula that sought to keep the unity intact against the ruling administration National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Sources in the alliance claimed that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and the Left parties were constantly negotiating with the lesser parties especially Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) that had complained of being offered fewer seats than it had expected. The VIP that has a base in the Nishad community had threatened to leave the alliance following an offer that it described as a token number of seats. But a compromise was later on arrived at after intervention by top executives at RJD and Congress.

Although the ultimate seat allocation has not been declared officially, analysts pointed that the RJD being the largest constituent will be going behind the lion share of seats. The Congress and the Left are projected to remain as strong as before in the 2020 elections but the minor allies such as the VIP will receive proportionate allocation in geographical locations that they have an upper hand either socially or geographically.

One of the leaders of RJD that was a party to the negotiations remarked that we were interested in making sure that the alliance was not sacrificed. The NDA prospers in our division. Therefore, there was a need to accommodate the voices of everyone, even when there was a need to make adaptation.

The Congress, which was also demanding a higher number of seats this time round, was also reported to have agreed on a modest trimming down to avoid further tensions amongst allies. Left leaders on the other hand have been happy with the final accord, which they described as a joint move towards crushing the BJP-led alliance.

Mukesh Sahani later after having had a series of independent consultations with the core committee of his party, assured that the VIP would remain a part of the Mahagathbandhan. This had some misunderstandings that have been cleared. We are fixated on securing representation of backward and marginalized communities, he said to reporters in the meeting.

The settlement follows weeks of possible cracks in the opposition camp, more so after Sahani was said to have been approached by the NDA. The rumours of his possible defection had arisen as a result of his slight lapse of attending alliance meetings, similar to the previous relationship with the BJP in 2020 elections.

Political analysts see the last solution as a practical step on the part of the opposition which seeks to make a unified show in a high-stakes game of Bihar with its 243-member Assembly. Patna political analyst, N.K. Verma suggested that during multi-party alliances, it is very usual to have seat-sharing disputes although resolving them at the early stages is important in co-ordination during campaigning.

Having the formula of seat sharing locked in, the Mahagathbandhan can now be expected to roll out its joint manifesto and start making coordination on a constituency by constituency basis in the coming weeks. The one thing that is likely to speed up campaigning is the announcement of the poll schedule by the Election Commission.

It is also being reported that the alliance leadership is going to establish a joint rally in Patna to communicate unity and overcome the organizational advantage of the NDA. At this time, the Grand Alliance seems to have come out of a rough period, however, it is yet to be determined whether the truce will be endured until the campaign is over.