NEW DELHI: Not all might be well in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after two of its alliance partners expressed displeasure over the seat-sharing deal ahead of the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.While BJP leaders are drawing parallels between alliance partners and “Mahabharata’s Pandavas”, asserting that “NDA stands strong” for the polls, Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha on Tuesday claimed that “this time, nothing is well in NDA.”
Meanwhile, Union minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi also warned that his party will contest against Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) in Bodh Gaya and Makhdumpur assembly constituencies.“I too will field my candidates in Bodh Gaya and Makhdumpur… Agreeing with the step taken by Nitish Kumar, I am fielding my candidates in two seats. The list is ready,” Manjhi said.HAM has already announced its candidates for six seats, among whom four are sitting MLAs.
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This comes as a challenge to Chirag Paswan’s LJP, which has been allocated 29 seats. Before the seat-sharing deal was finalised, HAM was demanding at least 15 seats. Meanwhile, Kushwaha is reportedly upset over the Mahua assembly seat, which was initially promised to him but is now being discussed for the LJP (Ram Vilas) quota.On Wednesday, Kushwaha was summoned to Delhi by the BJP top brass to avert the last-minute crisis.“I am going to Delhi. Some pondering needs to be done on the decisions that are being made in the NDA. I am going to Delhi to hold talks on the same. I’m hopeful that everything will be fine,” Kushwaha said.Amid intense speculation that the NDA seat-sharing deal has left him infuriated, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also gave away JD(U) tickets, bypassing the party’s earlier practice of announcing the names of candidates at a press conference, news agency PTI reported.It was not immediately known how many JD(U) candidates were given tickets during the day, as the CM’s residence kept bustling with activity, with aspirants turning up after receiving a call from the party chief.In the meantime, rumours spread like wildfire that Nitish, who is known to dump allies and forge new coalitions at will, was angry that his party was not given the lion’s share in the deal struck in Delhi on Sunday.Meanwhile, the Mahagathbandhan took a dig at the NDA, terming it “Naiya Doobegi Abki Baar.”RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari said that BJP’s intention is to “finish all regional parties.”“We are saying this since the beginning that BJP’s intention is to finish all regional parties… Now, conflicts have started to emerge within BJP as well,” Tiwari said.“Everything is fine in the Mahagathbandhan, there are no ifs or buts, no conflicts. The Mahagathbandhan is united and is fighting the elections strongly. With immense public support and the blessings of the people, a Tejashwi government is going to be formed in Bihar. This is the farewell of the NDA… Upendra Kushwaha has also said that something is not right somewhere, Jitan Ram Manjhi is upset, Nitish Kumar is upset... NDA now stands for ‘Naiya Doobegi Abki Baar’… Now, Bihar wants a Tejashwi government,” he added.Earlier on Sunday, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming Bihar elections, with the BJP and JD(U) to contest on 101 seats each, the LJP (Ram Vilas) on 29 seats, the Rashtriya Lok Morcha on six seats, and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) on six seats.The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)], Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha.The Election Commission has announced the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections. The 243 assembly seats will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes scheduled to take place on November 14.The total number of electors in the final list stands at 7.42 crore, while there were 7.89 crore electors as of June 24 this year. An Election Commission press release stated that 65 lakh voters were removed from the draft list, and the number of electors in the draft list as of August 1, 2025, stood at 7.24 crore.In the 2020 assembly election, the BJP contested 110 seats and won 74, securing 19.8% of the vote share. The Janata Dal (United) contested 115 seats and won 43, with a 15.7% vote share. The Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) contested seven seats, winning four, and achieved 0.9% of the vote share.
