It was reportedly a sleepless night at the residences of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Monday. While the INDIA bloc is yet to finalise a seat sharing formula, turmoil has erupted within the NDA over the allocation of seats.
By Tuesday morning, reports emerged that Nitish Kumar was upset with the BJP, as well as with his deputies — Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh and Sanjay Jha — for allocating nine JD(U)-held seats to the BJP. He reportedly insisted that these constituencies should remain with the JD(U).
Meanwhile, speculation intensified after RJD’s de facto chief Tejashwi Yadav returned from Delhi without meeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, fuelling rumours that Nitish Kumar might switch sides again.
Will the INDIA bloc and the NDA split? Will CM Nitish Kumar change alliances once more? Will Chirag Paswan field candidates on all seats? These questions sparked a political storm in Bihar on Tuesday.
Soon after, the BJP came into an action mode to resolve the issue, indicating that the NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement could be revisited. To counter the growing speculation, Union Minister Chirag Paswan posted a message on ‘X’, asserting NDA unity. He wrote, “The matter of seat allocation among NDA partners has been resolved amicably. Discussions about which party will contest on which seats are in the final stages and progressing positively. Under the leadership of Modiji and Nitishji, all NDA partners are fully united and prepared.”
Shortly after, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, HAM President Santosh Suman, and RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha also posted the same message on ‘X’ to reinforce the NDA’s position.
Union Minister and JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh accused the INDIA bloc of spreading misinformation. He claimed that the INDIA leaders were not getting public support and were resorting to false narratives. “Why would Nitish Kumar be upset? The NDA is united under his leadership and will contest the elections together,” he told the media.
In an effort to put the speculation to rest, the BJP released its first list of 71 candidates. However, internal tensions over seat allocation within the NDA continued to escalate.
Earlier, it was expected that the Tarapur seat would be left for the JD(U), but the BJP fielded Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary from that very seat, highlighting the lack of coordination among NDA allies.
Soon after, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi made a strong statement regarding the seat-sharing arrangement. He announced that his party would field candidates against the LJP (Ram Vilas) on the Bodh Gaya and Makhdumpur seats.
Makhdumpur has traditionally been Manjhi’s stronghold, but under the NDA’s current seat-sharing formula, it was reportedly allotted to Chirag Paswan’s party. The Bodh Gaya seat has also gone to the LJP (Ram Vilas), leading to strong resentment from Manjhi.