The Rashtriya Janata Dal on Monday released a list of 143 candidates for the 243-member Bihar Assembly, signalling what party insiders said was a “no compromise” stand on its share and choice of seats.
Although the list left out Kutumba, where the Congress has fielded its state president Rajesh Ram, it named candidates for at least five seats that the Grand Old Party too had claimed, setting up “friendly fights”. These seats are Hajipur, Lalganj, Kahalgaon, Narkatiaganj and Sikandra (Scheduled Caste).
The RJD also named candidates for two constituencies — Tarapur and Gaura Boram — where junior ally Vikassheel Insaan Party had already fielded nominees.
This apart, Mahagathbandhan partners Congress and CPI are both in the fray in Bachhwara, Rajapakar and Rosera.
Five of the 10 seats facing “friendly fights” go to the polls in the first phase, on November 6. On Monday, the last date for withdrawal of nominations, there was no clarity on whether any partner had pulled out any candidate to avoid a “friendly fight”.
Nominations can be withdrawn till November 6 for the second phase of polling on November 11, so there’s time left to break the deadlock on the remaining five seats.
“The Congress will have to withdraw its candidates because our leaders are in no mood to relent. Talks are on but there seems to be very little progress,” an RJD leader said.
RJD sources said their list — released on the last day for withdrawals for the first phase — represented the full complement of seats the party intended to contest.
They said there would be “no compromise” on either the tally or the choice of constituencies. In the 2020 Assembly elections, the RJD had contested 144 seats.
The Congress released its third list of six candidates on Monday, taking its total to 61. The CPIML Liberation, the principal Left party in the alliance, has already declared 20 candidates, with no disputes reported relating to these seats.
The total seats being contested by these three parties comes to 219, since 5 seats are common to the RJD and the Congress. This leaves 24 seats to be shared among Vikassheel, the CPI and the CPM — provided the Congress does not field more candidates.
The RJD’s decision not to contest from the reserved (Scheduled Caste) Kutumba seat is being seen as an effort to avoid a direct clash with its oldest ally. However, the party’s move of fielding candidates from several seats claimed by the Congress reflects its overarching desire to retain its preeminent position within the alliance.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad and son Tejashwi Yadav have remained confined to their homes in Patna for the past couple of days, avoiding any public interaction.
Union food processing minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan on Monday taunted the Opposition alliance over the looming “friendly fights”.
“I am a keen observer of politics but I have never seen an election where such a big alliance is on the verge of a split. There can be a dispute over the choice of seats, but they have not been able to even decide the number of seats,” Chirag said.
“There is nothing called a ‘friendly fight’. Either you are friends or you are fighting against each other…. The Mahagathbandhan will pay a big price for this. The NDA was progressing strongly, and now the Mahagathbandhan has given us a walkover on many seats that appeared challenging.”
In a minor relief for the Opposition bloc, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has withdrawn from the Bihar contest, suddenly reversing its earlier decision to go solo and field six candidates.
The JMM, part of the Opposition INDIA bloc and the ruling party in Jharkhand, had earlier sought a few seats to contest in Bihar and was refused by the RJD and the Congress.
The RJD list has 50 candidates from the Muslim and Yadav communities, reflecting the party’s focus on its key support bases. The party has also fielded more than half-a-dozen non-Yadav backwards in what seems an attempt to cut into rival JDU’s votes.
It has nominated 24 women to try and broaden the party’s appeal among a vote bank widely perceived to be happy with the Nitish Kumar government’s cash doles.
Tejashwi on Monday pitched himself as the candidate for chief minister in a post on X conveying Diwali greetings, while remaining silent on his party’s candidate list.
“I, Tejashwi, pledge to you that we all will light such a lamp of change and transformation that not only the country but the whole world will see it,” he tweeted.
“…I just want to say this to the people of Bihar: Come, let’s just once come together and illuminate not only our homes but the entire Bihar. For Bihar, your Tejashwi is ready to burn day and night as a diya and bati.”