Bihar: Seat-Sharing Negotiations Within Mahagathbandhan Hit Roadblock With Congress And VIP Raising Ante

Seat-sharing negotiations within the Mahagathbandhan are not going to be easy ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections as Congress and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) have adopted a tougher stance.

Meanwhile, the possible inclusion of two more parties — Pashupati Kumar Paras’s Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) and Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) — has further complicated the discussions.

Buoyed by what it views as the positive response to Rahul Gandhi’s Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar, the Congress is reportedly pushing for at least 70 seats, the same number it contested in 2020, when it won only 19.

In contrast, its senior ally, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), had contested 144 seats in the last Assembly polls and secured 75, making it the single-largest party in the 243-member House.

The NDA eventually formed the government, winning 125 seats to the Mahagathbandhan’s 110 — a result many attributed to the Congress’s low strike rate. This time, however, Congress leaders believe the momentum from Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra has strengthened their position, and they are pressing for a “respectable share” of seats, particularly “winnable seats,” according to party insiders.

Seat-sharing talks also come against the backdrop of RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s recent assertion that he will be the alliance’s chief ministerial candidate. Responding from Delhi, AICC’s Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru remarked, “people of Bihar would decide the CM,” a comment widely seen as the Congress’s attempt to signal it won’t simply accept the RJD’s dominance.

Meanwhile, VIP chief Mukesh Sahani has been pressing for his projection as Deputy CM while demanding 60 seats, though party insiders suggest he may eventually settle for 20–25.

An RJD functionary was quoted as saying by Indian Express, “We had given VIP three Lok Sabha seats to contest in the 2024 polls. Going by that yardstick, Sahani should be a claimant of 18-20 seats.”