Bihar polls: JDU denies Nitish Kumar unhappy with NDA seat-sharing deal

Amid reports of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar being unhappy over the NDA’s distribution of seats, JDU MP Sanjay Kumar Jha on Tuesday accused the Opposition Mahagathbandhan of “planting stories and spreading rumours”.

Jha rejected the reports, saying Kumar was “absolutely happy” about the distribution of seats and that he stands ready for the Assembly elections scheduled to be held on November 6 and 11.

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“The opposition knows that they are losing the election. They are planting stories, spreading rumours about what is going on in the NDA. Nitish Kumar is absolutely happy. He is ready for the elections. He will campaign for the NDA,” Jha told a news agency.

The JDU leader further stated that Nitish Kumar is keeping an eye on everything and is in close coordination with NDA leaders.

“He is keeping an eye on everything. He is talking to the senior leaders of the NDA. All five parties of the NDA are united, and by this evening, we will also announce the list of candidates and their constituencies. NDA is fighting the elections under the guidance of Nitish Kumar,” Jha asserted.

The JDU had fought the 2020 Assembly elections on 115 seats, five more than the BJP, which had contested 110 seats.

However, as per the NDA’s seat-sharing agreement announced on Monday, the JDU and the BJP will contest an equal number of seats. Both parties have been given 101 seats each as Union Minister Chirag Paswan managed to secure 29 seats for his LJP (RV). Two other smaller allies have been given six seats each.

Following the NDA’s announcement of its seat-sharing pact, some reports suggested that Nitish was not happy with the arrangement.

He reportedly directed Union Minister Lalan Singh to reopen negotiations with the BJP on nine seats that were previously held by the JDU.