The BJP on Saturday rushed to finalise seat-sharing talks and shortlisting of candidates for the Bihar elections, even as some ruling NDA allies resorted to last-minute bargaining for a bigger share.
Apparently upset by the BJP’s offer, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) led by Union medium, small and micro enterprise minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said the party’s “options were open”.
Manjhi issued the veiled threat after driving out of BJP chief J.P. Nadda’s home in Delhi, where home minister Amit Shah and Bihar election in-charge and Union education minister
Dharmendra Pradhan were also present.
“We have conveyed our thoughts to the BJP leadership. Options are open for us as there is no permanent friend or enemy in politics. We are determined about our demand, and soon you will see the results,” HAM leader Rajesh Pandey told reporters later.
Earlier this week, the HAM chief had said his party would prefer to sit out the November elections if the party was not allotted at least 15 seats. Sources said the BJP had offered just seven seats to HAM.
The scramble among the BJP leaders to finalise seat sharing and prepare a shortlist of candidates came ahead of the party’s election committee meeting, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday.
“Everything is fine in the NDA. Seat sharing and the list of candidates will soon be decided by the party’s central leadership, and an important announcement will be made on Sunday,” Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal told reporters in Patna.
Privately, BJP leaders said the distribution of 240 of the total 243 seats had been finalised. They claimed that the JDU would contest 101 seats, BJP 100, LJP(RV) 26, HAM 7 and the RLM 6. “Talks over the distribution of the remaining three seats are on,” a BJP leader said.
RLM chief and Rajya Sabha member Upendra Kushwaha denied the finalisation of seat-sharing talks. “Reports being shown in the media regarding the NDA finalising seat sharing and my party getting a certain number of seats are not correct. Talks are still underway. The BJP leadership has called me to Delhi and talks will be held there,” Kushwaha told reporters in Patna.
Insiders said Kushwaha was contacted by the BJP leadership from Nadda’s residence and told about his share, which he did not agree to. “I won’t discuss
publicly how many seats I want for my party. I will discuss all these things on the right platform.... I am going to Delhi,” he said.
The LJP(RV), another key NDA ally led by Union food processing minister Chirag Paswan, held a meeting of its parliamentary board in Delhi on Saturday to strategise for the polls. The party pressed for 35 seats and was not happy with the offer of 26 made to it.
The BJP plans to make a joint declaration of seat sharing among the NDA allies in Delhi on Sunday.