Congress has urged Mahagathbandhan allies to distribute constituencies by balancing winnable and tough seats and asked that all parties be ready to part with some from their current quota to accommodate new entrants, as seat-sharing negotiations intensify ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.
Krishna Allavaru, Congress’s in-charge for Bihar, said at a Delhi press conference that with the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Pashupati Paras’s Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party seeking entry into the alliance, existing members must contribute “from their kitty.” He stressed that no one party should monopolise the safer seats, leaving the difficult ones to its partners.
The All India Congress Committee has outlined that letting in new parties will require seat sacrifices from all, and that seats are not uniformly winnable. “There are good and bad seats in every state,” Allavaru said, adding that partners should not take all the good ones while others are left with bad ones.
The arrival of JMM and RLJP has added pressure on alliance members to renegotiate allocations. In a meeting at Tejashwi Yadav’s Patna residence among INDIA bloc leaders, Rajesh Ram, Bihar Congress chief, noted that parties had agreed broadly on which constituencies would go to whom, but were aware that compromises would be necessary. Ram also emphasised that Congress would not demand more seats than in previous elections simply because morale is higher following the Voter Adhikar Yatra.
Sources indicate Congress may contest about 57-60 seats. While RJD is pushing to retain the largest share of the 243 seats in the Assembly, Congress, Left parties, VIP, JMM, and RLJP are laying claim to various numbers based on prior performance, influence, and projected winnability.
Congress has also criticised the BJP over alleged “vote theft” and electoral roll manipulation, suggesting that an unfair electoral environment could make even “good seats” vulnerable and thus more precious.
US Senator Accuses Trump Policy of Undoing US-India Strained Ties 