Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh on Wednesday said that discussions are underway between the Congress and RJD to resolve the issue, adding that Rahul Gandhi also wants the matter settled soon.
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In Bihar’s “friendly fights”, the Congress, RJD, and Left parties have fielded candidates against each other on at least 11 seats. This even though all three parties are part of the same alliance in the poll-bound state, the Mahagathbandhan.
Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh on Wednesday said that discussions are underway between the Congress and RJD to resolve the issue, adding that Rahul Gandhi also wants the matter settled soon.
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However, earlier on Tuesday, while speaking to ANI, Singh had admitted that there had been a “tussle” within the Mahagathbandhan during ticket distribution, which sent a flawed message to the public.
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“I don’t deny that there was a bit of a mess-up. The tussle over ticket distribution has indeed sent a wrong message,” he said.
Singh added that the issue should be resolved as soon as possible, as “there is no such thing as a friendly fight in elections”. He said the Congress high command is considering the issue and senior leaders are putting efforts to search for a solution before the deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
The RJD on Monday put out its list of 143 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, including 24 women. After comparing the lists of the RJD and Congress, there are some overlapping seats where both parties have fielded candidates despite being alliance partners.
For example, in Narkatiaganj, Deepak Yadav (RJD) will face Shaswat Kedar Pandey (Congress); in Kahalgaon, Rajnish Bharti (RJD) will take on Praveen Singh Kushwaha (Congress); in Sikandra (SC), Uday Narayan Chaudhary (RJD) will contest against Vinod Chaudhary (Congress); and in Lalganj (Vaishali), Shivani Shukla (RJD) is likely to face Aditya Raja (Congress).
The 2025 Bihar Assembly election will mainly see a contest between the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Mahagathbandhan.
The NDA includes the BJP, JD(U), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha.
The Mahagathbandhan, led by the RJD, includes the Congress, CPI(ML), CPI, CPM, and Mukesh Sahani’s Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP).
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