Bihar Congress president Rajesh Kumar on Thursday claimed that the party has finalised the seats it will be contesting in the upcoming assembly polls and claimed that consent has been received from "alliance partners".
The meeting, which comes amid ongoing seat-sharing negotiations with Mahagathbandhan allies -- primarily the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and left parties.
Talking to reporters here upon his return from Delhi, Kumar said the Congress central election committee has also approved the list of candidates, and a formal announcement will be made "in a day or two." "Decks have been cleared. We had identified the seats after talks with alliance partners. The names of candidates we proposed have been approved by the central election committee", the BPCC chief said.
He, however, refused to divulge further details, saying "we are to accommodate some new entrants in the INDIA bloc. The process is in the final stages. In a day or two, we will be through and come up with a formal announcement".
The INDIA bloc in Bihar is helmed by the RJD and includes three Left parties CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI and CPI(M), all of which had contested the last assembly polls together.
Former state minister Mukesh Sahni’s Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP), which joined the opposition coalition during last year’s Lok Sabha elections, is also part of the bloc, in addition to the Congress.
The alliance is also expected to bring on board Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s JMM and the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) headed by former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras.
Leaders like AICC Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru have been indicating that "sacrifices" may be made this time to accommodate newer allies.
RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav is trying to cut the seats of the left parties, especially the CPIML, due to heavy internal opposition within his own party.
“A large section of party leaders and workers feel that whatever seats the Left won in the 2020 Assembly polls was due to the voter base of the RJD. The CPIML won the Paliganj, Ghosi, Arwal and other seats in central and southwestern Bihar riding on the support of our voters. Handing over such seats to others to contest is not a good idea,” a senior RJD leader told ETV Bharat.
Meanwhile, the CPI and CPM are considering that the RJD would consider their demands reasonably, and with mutual respect.
“We have demanded 24 seats and have left it to the RJD to decide the final number. But it should be honourable, respectful and reasonable. We are present in all 243 Assembly constituencies and have the ability to transfer votes to the alliance like no other party. This must be considered while taking any decision,” CPI Bihar state secretary Ram Naresh Pandey told ETV Bharat.
The CPIML had contested 19 seats in the previous election and won 12, registering a strike rate of over 63 percent, which was the best in the Opposition alliance. The CPI had fought on six and CPM on four seats. Both won two seats each, with a strike rate of 33 percent and 50 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, the RJD contested 144 and won 75 with a strike rate of 52 percent, while the Congress fought on 70 and could clinch just 19 seats with an abysmal strike rate of slightly over 27 percent.
