The battle lines may have been drawn in Bihar, but seat sharing in the rival alliances led by BJP and JD(U) for the upcoming crucial Assembly election is likely to be quite a challenge with the constituents all set to strike a hard bargain.
Minor parties in the alliances have already started hinting at it and made it known that out of the box thinking is needed over the issue for the prestigious battle that has the potential to change the national scene dominated by Narendra Modi-led BJP for the past more than one year.
The talk in the Nitish Kumar-led alliance is that RJD chief lalu Prasad is taking his own time to decide on seat sharing for the 243-member Assembly whatever may be the public posturing. RJD and JD(U) have to first firm up the seat allocation among themselves and later the share of minor players will be decided.
Ally Congress’ general secretary Shakeel Ahmed said, “Congress would like honourable number of seats so that its cadres do not get demoralised.” Ahmed is a former Bihar PCC Chief and had been a State Minister for long.
Congress leaders say in private that Rahul Gandhi could go in for a tough bargain to avoid any raw deal to the party.
Sharad Pawar’s NCP also held its national convention in Patna last month to pitch for a secular alliance comprising the JD-U, RJD, Congress and NCP.
BJP too is facing a challenging task. Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha, whose Rashtriya lok Samata Party is part of the BJP-led NDA, has already suggested that the seat sharing formula during the lok Sabha polls does not hold good for the coming Assembly polls. Kushwaha had been an ally of Nitish Kumar till a few years back.