Bihar NDA agrees on seats, BJP concedes 5 from its share to allies

While the BJP has given away its sitting seats Valmiki Nagar, Jhanjharpur, Siwan and Gopalganj to the JD(U), it has given its Nawada seat to the LJP. Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who had won from Nawada in 2014, is now most likely to contest from Begusarai opposite CPI candidate and former JNU Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar. Click for more election news

According to the announcement, the BJP will contest from Paschim Champaran (Bettiah), Purvi Champaran (Motihari), Muzaffarpur, Saran, Maharajganj, Sheohar, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Ujiarpur, Begusarai, Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Ara, Buxar, Sasaram, Aurangabad and Araria. The party is likely to field Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from its traditional Patna Sahib seat in place of rebel Shatrughan Sinha. The BJP also gave up Bhagalpur, a seat it has been contesting since its Jana Sangh days, to the JD(U). BJP national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain had represented the seat in 2004 and 2009 and had lost narrowly to the RJD in 2014.

Apart from the four seats it got from the BJP, the JD(U) will field candidates from Jehanabad, Gaya, Karakat, Madhepura, Supaul, Sitamarhi, Purnea, Kishanganj, Banka, Bhagalpur, Munger, Nalanda and Katihar. Of these, the JD(U) had won only Purnea and Nalanda in 2014.

The JD(U), which had been demanding Darbhanga for its national general secretary Sanjay Jha, had to give in to the BJP, which is likely to field former Bihar minister and former CM Jagannath Mishra’s son Nitish Mishra from the seat.

The JD(U) has also got Munger, a seat won by the LJP in 2014, from where it is likely to field water resources minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh. In lieu of Munger, the LJP has got Nawada from the BJP. The LJP will also contest from Hajipur, Samastipur, Jamui, Khagaria and Vaishali.

While Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan has made it clear that he would not contest from Hajipur, his son Chirag is likely to contest from his sitting Jamui seat. Paswan has also ruled out the possible candidature of his wife Reena Paswan from Hajipur.

There are many takeaways of NDA seat-sharing. One, BJP has shown great flexibility by conceding its five sitting seats to alliance partners by even inviting displeasure of its key leaders such as Siwan MP Om Prakash who had defeated Heena Shahab, wife of RJD muscleman and conicted former MP Mohammed Shahabbdin. Siwan seat now goes to JD (U).

BJP also showed great heart by conceding its sitting Nawada seat to LJP. BJP conceding an important seat like Bhagalpur to JD (U) and leaving most probable candidate Syed Shahbawaz Husaain in lurch also shows that Hussain has not yet been able win confidence of BJP top brass. This would also mean no Muslim candidate from BJP in Bihar. Another takeaway is BJP leaving three of four Muslim-dominated Seemanchal seats to JD (U) and thus, stay away from religious polarisation while Nitish Kumar has also not complained about not getting Patna Sahib and Darbhanga, the seat-sharing reads Nitish Kumar’s development template.