Political analysts believe that mutual agreement on seat‑swapping could significantly boost the Opposition’s prospects, provided all major partners consent.
New Delhi: The Opposition Mahagathbandhan parties have reached a broad consensus on seat-sharing for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections and are now considering seat‑swapping arrangements in marginal constituencies. Their goal is to field the most winnable candidates based on local demographics and past performance.
According to informed sources, the agreed seat‑sharing formula allocates roughly 55–58 seats to the Congress, 140 to the RJD, and 20 to the CPI‑ML (which won 12 of 19 seats in the last poll). Mukesh Sahani’s VIP is slated for 11 seats, while the LJP, led by former Union minister Pashupati Paras, may receive two to three seats. The CPM and CPI will contest four and six seats, respectively.
Learning from the 2020 election, when the RJD, despite winning the most seats (75), failed to form the government due to its partners’ weak performances, the alliance has initiated more granular negotiations to secure a clear majority in the October-November polls.
Under this strategy, the Mahagathbandhan aims to adjust allocations in constituencies where it previously lost by narrow margins (2,000 votes or fewer). “If a candidate or party has a strong track record in a marginal seat, the alliance may swap that seat to them, even if it wasn’t originally allocated to their party,” a source within the I.N.D.I.A. bloc said.
Political analysts believe that mutual agreement on seat‑swapping could significantly boost the Opposition’s prospects, provided all major partners consent. Meanwhile, the NDA camp is experiencing internal tensions: Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union minister Chirag Paswan has announced he will contest all Bihar seats and has renewed his criticism of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s government.
If the I.N.D.I.A. bloc meticulously fields suitable candidates in key constituencies, analysts suggest, Tejashwi Yadav’s leadership could give the Opposition a strong chance of forming the next government in Bihar.
