PATNA: The Opposition INDIA bloc leaders on Saturday held a meeting under the leadership of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav in the state capital to discuss seat-sharing and other issues related to assembly elections due in October-November.
This is the first meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders, including Congress and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), after the Voter Adhikar Yatra launched by the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, which concluded in Patna on September 1.
Sources said that the Opposition leaders convened an unscheduled meeting to deliberate on seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming assembly elections.
The leaders at the meeting deliberated upon the list of seats furnished by each ally of the INDIA bloc. Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav hosted the discussions at his official residence on One Polo Road, joined by Congress’s Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, state Congress president Rajesh Ram, and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahni.
Alliance leaders said the talks were preliminary and no formal decisions were expected immediately.
“This is the first meeting of the Mahagathbandhan or grand alliance after the voter adhikar campaign,” Rajesh Ram told the media, adding that any formal outcomes would be shared later.
“We will come out with positive results soon. Our talks on seat-sharing is moving in the right direction,” Ram said in response to a media query.
He said that the issue related to the inclusion of former union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras led RLJP and Hemant Soren’s JMM was also discussed at the meeting.
The opposition coalition, comprising RJD, Congress, Left parties and smaller allies, last met on July 30.
Previous rounds of meetings focused on issues such as coordination committees.
With elections approaching, the INDIA bloc has restarted consultations, while the Congress is also conducting candidate screenings for all constituencies.
Seat-sharing, however, remained contentious among the Opposition alliance.
Sahani is pressing for 60 seats, while Left parties are seeking a greater share than in the 2020 assembly polls.
CPI state secretary Ramnaresh Pandey said his party had not been given “respectable” representation last time and expected a stronger allocation this year.
The CPI will further discuss its strategy during its state conference in Patna from September 8–12, Pandey added.
In the 2020 polls, the RJD contested 144 seats while the Congress fought in 70 seats. While the RJD bagged 75 of the 144 seats it contested, the Congress's strike rate was far lower at 19.
Other parties who contested as part of the alliance included CPI(ML), CPI and CPI(M) which contested 19, 6 and 4 seats, respectively.
The CPI(ML) had the best strike rate among the allies, winning 12 of its 19 seats. Congress, on the other hand, is pushing to contest the same number of seats that it contested in the last assembly election.
Sources said that the party will have to compromise on some seats, but the people’s response during the Voter Adhikar Yatra has increased the party’s bargaining power.
RJD could be nearing closer with the party likely to retain the number of seats it contested in the last assembly elections held in 2020.
CPI-ML has also demanded a reasonable number of seats.