BJP to relinquish two winning seats in NDA seat-sharing formula

The sources said that the two seats meant for RLSP could be distributed between the BJP and JDU if the Kushwaha-led party parted ways with the NDA.
Image used for representational purpose only. (File photo | PTI)
Image used for representational purpose only. (File photo | PTI)

NEW DELHI: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar has finalised its seat-sharing formula for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Sources claimed that the BJP had decided to relinquish two of its winning seats and would be contesting 20 seats to accommodate its allies. The sources claimed that Janata Dal-United (JDU) would contest 12 seats and the Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party will contest five seats. The Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP will be given two seats while one seat has been reserved for Jehanabad MP Arun Kumar, who parted ways with Kushwaha.

The sources said that the two seats meant for RLSP could be distributed between the BJP and JDU if the Kushwaha-led party parted ways with the NDA. In April this year, the non-BJP partners in the NDA—JD (U), LJP and RLSP—had mooted the twenty-twenty proposal for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. 
The seat-sharing decision came on Thursday in the backdrop of RLSP chief and Union minister Kushwaha’s comments on August 26, when he said that combining milk from Yadavs and rice from Kushwahas was a recipe for a good ‘kheer’ (a sweet dish).

Currently, the BJP has 22 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar and sources claimed that it would give away to the allies two winning seats, which may include Darbhanga and Buxar. Darbhanga MP Kirti Azad has already been suspended from the party and Buxar MP Ashwini Chaubey is likely to shift to Bhagalpur.
Apart from Azad, Patna Sahib MP Shatrughan Sinha may face the axe. For the last few months, Sinha has been a vocal critic of the government and has also praised Lalu Yadav’s son Tejashwi Yadav.

However, the RLSP denied of any talks on seat sharing. Kushwaha’s recent overtures to the RJD, ignited by his ‘kheer’ comment, and an open call to Kumar to step down from the post of chief minister, have kept both the BJP and the JD (U) on tenterhooks. There is a strong buzz in political circles that Kushwaha will join the Opposition camp in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP may also give one Lok Sabha seat to the JDU in Uttar Pradesh and one in Jharkhand.

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