The National Democratic Alliance on Monday finalised its seat-sharing formula in Bihar for Lok Sabha elections, announcing the Bharatiya Janata Party will contest 17 constituencies, the Janata Dal-United 16 and Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas five, while rebuffing the claims of the LJP faction led by Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras.
Two other NDA allies -- Hindustani Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Morcha -- will contest one seat each, Vinod Tawde, the BJP's in-charge for elections in Bihar, told a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Patna.
This will be the first time the BJP has got more seats than Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led JD-U in Bihar, underscoring the change in their equations after they joined hands a few months back.
Tawde expressed confidence that the National Democratic Alliance will win all 40 seats in the state. It had bagged 39 seats in 2019.
"The BJP will contest 17 out of the total 40 seats and the JD-U will contest 16. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will contest five seats," Tawde told the presser jointly addressed by NDA allies from the state.
In 2019, both parties had contested 17 seats each while the then undivided Lok Janshakti Party headed by Ram Vilas Paswan had fought six. The BJP and the LJP had won all of their seats while the JD-U had bagged 16.
Bihar LJP-Ram Vilas chief Raju Tiwari said Chirag Paswan will contest the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat, which has been given to the party under the seat-sharing pact for the 2024 polls.
Paswan's estranged uncle Paras represents the constituency in the outgoing Lok Sabha and had been pitching his claim over it.
Bihar BJP chief Samrat Choudhary said that talks are going on with Paras, who has already expressed displeasure with the national party after it sealed its alliance with Paswan a few days back.
Tawde said the BJP will contest Paschim Champaran, Purvi Champaran, Aurangabad, Madhubani, Araria, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Maharajganj, Saran, Ujiyarpur, Begusarai, Nawada, Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Arrah, Buxar and Sasaram.
The JD-U will field its candidates from Valmikinagar, Sitamarhi, Jhanjharpur, Supaul, Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, Madhepura, Gopalganj, Siwan, Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Nalanda, Jehanabad and Sheohar, he said.
The LJP-Ram Vilas will field its candidates from Vaishali, Hajipur, Samastipur, Khagaria and Jamui Lok Sabha seats, Tawde, who is also BJP national general secretary, said.
Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi-led HAM will join the fray from the Gaya Lok Sabha seat while the RLM from Karakat, he added.
All three main parties have been given the seats they won in 2019 barring a few changes to accommodate two smaller parties.
The Sheohar seat has gone from the BJP's quota to the JD(U), while getting Nawada from the LJP.
The JD-U ceded its claim on Karakat and Gaya, both of which it won in 2019, to accommodate the two new allies.
At at press conference, the JD-U was represented by senior leader and MP Sanjay Kumar Jha, the HAM was represented by a Delhi-based leader while no one from RLP was present.
