NDA's Likely Bihar Plan: Elder Brother Share For JD(U), Chirag Paswan Factor

A consensus has been reached between the constituents of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar as Assembly elections, with the Janata Dal (United) (JDU) set to be projected as the elder brother, sources told NDTV.

While both the JD(U) and BJP will contest over 100 seats each for the 243-member Bihar Assembly, a key factor in deciding the seat-sharing formula is whether Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag Paswan agrees for an adjustment in his 40-seat demand, sources said. The JD(U) will be given more seats than the BJP to allow the party to maintain an elder brother status in the state and alliance.

BJP sources believe that Mr Paswan's demand stems from the need to keep his supporters' morale high. The JD(U), however, is not in favour of giving the LJP more than 20 seats. This might put the alliance in a fix as sources say the election will be fought under the leadership of current Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, whose health remains an area of concern for many.

Some seats will also be given to Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).

The seat-sharing formula will be finalised in a meeting of senior NDA leaders and announced after the poll dates are declared by the Election Commission, likely in the last week of September or later, per sources.

Further, the Bihar Assembly election will likely be held in two to three phases and dates will be decided keeping in mind Diwali (October 20) and Chhath (October 25-28). The current Assembly;s term will end on November 22 and conclusion of elections before this date is essential.

The last Bihar Assembly polls were held in three phases, with the first phase of voting held for 71 seats on October 28, 2020. The second and third phases of polling were held on November 3 and November 7, 2020 respectively. The counting of votes was conducted on November 10, 2020.

In the previous elections, the BJP won in 74 seats while the JD(U) won in 43 seats. The main opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had the highest vote share with victories in 75 seats, but was trounced by the BJP-JD(U) combine.