'Winnable' vs 'tough' seats vital for Bihar's mahagathbandhan

Politics Politics of India

Posted by AI on 2025-09-10 15:10:36 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-10 17:59:22

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The Congress on Sunday asserted that seat-sharing in Bihar needs to balance winnable and tough constituencies, as it asserted that all mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) allies must contribute from their "kitty" to accommodate new partners.

The party's assertion comes after the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) announced that it would give four seats to the Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and two to the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) in the 2022 assembly polls.

Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil told reporters in Patna that the RJD's move to give just two seats to VIP, a new ally, was "unfair and unacceptable".

"The Grand Alliance should keep in mind that the winnable seats are distributed among like-minded parties, and also keep some seats for new allies," he said, adding that the Congress would "not take an unfair share" of winnable seats while urging other partners to also cede some of their "winnable" seats.

Shaktisinh Gohil said the Congress was prepared to work hard in the tough constituencies. "We want to work with the Grand Alliance to defeat the BJP in Bihar," he added.

The Congress is preparing to contest around 70 of the state's 243 assembly seats. The party presently holds just 29 seats in the outgoing assembly. The Grand Alliance comprises the Congress, RJD, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Communist Party of India, Nationalist Congress Party, and several other regional parties.

The BJP joined forces with the Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) to form the NDA in Bihar. The LJP is headed by Ram Vilas Paswan's son Chirag Paswan.

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