NEW DELHI: The Mahagathbandhan announced the seat-sharing agreement in Bihar, with the RJD, the coalition’s largest member, slated to nominate candidates for 26 seats. The Congress will nominate its candidates for 9 seats, while CPI(ML) will contest three, and CPI and CPI(M) will each contest one seat.
The announcement was a result of the Congress giving up its claim on the Purnea Lok Sabha seat, which had been sought by Pappu Yadav, husband of Rajya Sabha MP Ranjeet Ranjan.Yadav claimed to have received assurance of a Congress ticket from Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
The Purnea seat will now be contested by the RJD, which recently awarded its ticket to Bima Bharti, a former JD(U) member. However, the formal announcement of this decision is pending.
This allocation of seats comes after the conclusion of the filing of nomination papers for the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls. The RJD has nominated candidates for all four seats in the first phase, a move that has been met with discontent from some allies who perceive it as a unilateral decision.
The press conference held by the Mahagathbandhan to announce the seat-sharing arrangement was scheduled to be addressed by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. However, Yadav was notably absent.
Speaking in Yadav’s absence, RJD national spokesman and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha stated that the names of candidates for remaining seats would be announced soon. It is worth mentioning that CPI and CPI(M) have already declared their candidates for Begusarai and Khagaria respectively.
Jha, addressing the media alongside state Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh and other coalition allies, emphasized, “We have arrived at a unanimous decision and we will win.”
(With agency inputs)
The announcement was a result of the Congress giving up its claim on the Purnea Lok Sabha seat, which had been sought by Pappu Yadav, husband of Rajya Sabha MP Ranjeet Ranjan.Yadav claimed to have received assurance of a Congress ticket from Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
The Purnea seat will now be contested by the RJD, which recently awarded its ticket to Bima Bharti, a former JD(U) member. However, the formal announcement of this decision is pending.
This allocation of seats comes after the conclusion of the filing of nomination papers for the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls. The RJD has nominated candidates for all four seats in the first phase, a move that has been met with discontent from some allies who perceive it as a unilateral decision.
The press conference held by the Mahagathbandhan to announce the seat-sharing arrangement was scheduled to be addressed by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. However, Yadav was notably absent.
Speaking in Yadav’s absence, RJD national spokesman and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha stated that the names of candidates for remaining seats would be announced soon. It is worth mentioning that CPI and CPI(M) have already declared their candidates for Begusarai and Khagaria respectively.
Jha, addressing the media alongside state Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh and other coalition allies, emphasized, “We have arrived at a unanimous decision and we will win.”
(With agency inputs)