Nitish and Lalu houses have sleepless night as tempers boil over on election tickets

The Chirag Paswan-led LJP faction pulled off a coup over the weekend by getting 29 seats from the NDA kitty, and the aftershocks appear to be hitting the JD(U) now. Similarly, Lalu apparently stumped son Tejashwi by virtually blessing seven leaders as candidates, losing little time after landing back from Delhi, where the family had gone for a court appearance.

Sparks flew in both camps well into the wee hours, as per sources. Around midnight, the BJP rushed over its senior state leader and Union Minister of State Nityanand Rai to hold talks with LJP (RV) Bihar in-charge and Jamui MP Arun Bharati to renegotiate some seats so as to placate Nitish. The CM is reportedly also in talks with BJP leaders.

A JD(U) source said that one seat over which Nitish has put his foot down is Rajgir (SC) in Nalanda, his home district. “When the CM learnt that it could be given to Chirag, he made it clear there was no question of conceding any Nalanda seat to the LJP (RV). The BJP has to relent,” the JD(U) leader said.

Over at the Lalu family residence, RJD leaders Bogo Singh (Matihani seat), Bhai Virendra (Maner), Rekha Paswan (Masuarhi) and Sanjiv Singh (Parbatta) made their way back over the course of the night, for “discussions”, as Tejashwi questioned the promise of tickets to them.

An RJD source said: “In Tejashwi’s absence, seven leaders were allotted party symbols by Lalu Prasad. It is possible that some RJD functionaries and Lalu family members played a role. When Tejashwi learnt about it, he was livid.”

According to the source, while the same people may end up getting the RJD ticket, Tejashwi’s message to both his family and party was clear: that he held “primacy in ticket distribution”.

Come Tuesday, JD(U) Bhagalpur MP Ajay Mandal announced he was resigning from the party, marking a letter to Nitish complaining about not being allowed to meet him and about being left out of ticket distribution for Assembly seats falling under his Lok Sabha segment.

Tuesday morning also saw JD(U) Pirpati MLA Gopal Mandal begin a dharna outside the CM House, complaining about not being heard by senior party leaders.  A four-time MLA from Gopalpur in Bhagalpur, Mandal plonked himself close to the gate after being denied entry, declaring he would not budge. “The security personnel may use lathi if they want,” said Mandal.

Ajay Mandal and Gopal Mandal reportedly both have their eye on the Gopalpur seat; Ajay wants it for his relative Archana Mandal, and Gopal for either himself or son Ashish Mandal. There is also a third Mandal in contention – former Bhagalpur MP Shailesh Kumar alias Bulo Mandal, who wants the Gopalpur seat for himself.

Another leader who camped outside Nitish’s house, for fear of a ticket being denied to him, was former RJD Suryagarha MLA Prahlad Yadav. He had crossed over to the JD(U) in February 2024, during a floor test of the Nitish government.

Apart from trouble in its own ranks, the RJD is also battling strains within the Mahagathbandhan. The Congress has reportedly readied a list of 61, including Kahalgaon, Baisi and Bahadurganj constituencies, which the RJD does not want to concede.

A Congress source said: “We are demanding 54 to 61 seats, and we want only those constituencies where we got more than 20,000 votes (in 2020). These include the 19 seats we won, plus 20-odd where we were runner-up.”

In another twist, the third-biggest partner in the Mahagathbandhan, the CPI (M-L) L put out a list of 18 on Tuesday evening, only to withdraw it minutes later. Six of those named by it, though, went ahead and filed their nominations.

The 18 seats which figured in the short-lived list were part of the 19 the party contested in 2020. However, the CPI (M-L) L – which is citing its success rate in winning 12 of its share of 19 in 2020 – is demanding more this time. Sources said that the Mahagathbandhan may ultimately set aside 31 seats for its Left allies, and the CPI (M-L) L could field candidates in 22 of them.

In three seats, Tarari, Agiaon (which it won in 2020) and Digha (that it lost), the CPI (M-L) L could field new faces. The new candidate from Digha could be Divya Gautam, a cousin of the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput who is a former All India Students’ Association leader. Incidentally, it was the BJP that had sought to make Rajput’s death a poll issue last time.

The six candidates of the CPI (M-L) L who filed their nominations Tuesday include Sandeep Saurabh (Paliganj seat), Mahanand Singh (Arwal), Satyadev Ram (Darauli), Amarjeet Kushwaha (Ziradei), Quyamuddin Ansari (Ara) and Amarnath Yadav (Daraunda). The last two had lost in 2020.

As the Mahagathbandhan hopes to tie up its loose ends, one nomination could be happening Wednesday. Tejashwi is expected to file his papers from his Raghopur seat.