The BJP and JDU, the two important partners of the NDA for the Bihar assembly elections, continue to visit important meetings. The issues related to seat-sharing in the NDA have almost been resolved amidst suspense at the LJP. A senior BJP official said that if LJP decides to pull out of the alliance, the party is ready with Plan B. According to reliable sources from both parties, all the controversial seats were discussed during the meeting and a amicable solution has been worked out.
A BJP official said that the two partners have finalized the seats for the first phase and there is a deadlock over some seats. However, seat splitting is to be on 50-50 basis.
BJP’s two Bihar in-charge former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav will brief the party president in a meeting of the Central Election Committee on Sunday in New Delhi. NDA partners will contest all elections, in all probability. The BJP can release its list related to it till late evening of Sunday.
In the NDA meeting, Bihar in-charge of BJP Fadnavis and Yadav were represented on behalf of BJP by State President Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal, Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi and Organizational Secretary Nagendra Ji, while JDU was represented by MP Raj Ranjan alias Lallan Singh and RCP Singh, Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav. However, there remains doubt over Lok Janshakti Party’s (LJP) presence as a third partner in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The LJP has indicated fighting for 147 seats.
In this regard, a JD (U) leader said that the last-minute tussle between coalition partners regarding seat-sharing has intensified. Due to this, the work of sharing 12 more seats has been stalled. It also has seats which are considered to be RJD strongholds.
Apart from this issue, LJP has also demanded seats of its choice as well as some seats considered to be strongholds of JDU and BJP. In this regard, a senior BJP leader said that LJP is stubborn, we are waiting for the outcome of their meeting in New Delhi. At the same time a senior JDU official said that the party’s alliance is only with the BJP, it is for the BJP to decide how many seats it wants to give to the LJP. This is their internal matter. As far as JDU is concerned, we are adjusting Manjhi’s HAM.
A senior BJP official said that if LJP decides to pull out of the alliance, the party is ready with Plan B and can play a role in Mukesh Saini’s VIP party. Saini on Saturday staged a dramatic walkout from the grand alliance. The LJP is threatening that if its demand for 42 seats is not met, it will break away from the NDA and contest against JDU. LJP is targeting Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for alleged failures of the government on the employment front and on the overall development of the state.
On Saturday, Paswan also tweeted about his Bihar first, Bihari First Vision Document, which he said was inspired by PM Narendra Modi. In the message, he urged people to bless him.
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