The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (United) on Tuesday reached a seat-sharing agreement for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. As per the deal, the JD(U) will contest in 122 seats while the BJP will field candidates in 121 constituencies.
The decision came at an NDA meeting at JD(U) president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s official residence in Patna. BJP leaders Devendra Fadnavis, Sushil Modi and Sanjay Jaiswal attended the meeting.
In a joint NDA press conference, NItish Kumar said the JD(U) has given seven seats to Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) from its quota, while the BJP will give seats to the Vikas Insan Party (VIP) from its quota.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s Bihar unit has made it clear that the party is not looking for any back door alliance with the Lok Janshakti Party. "Our party is contesting the elections under Nitish's leadership. Whosoever goes against him or challenges him will not be a part of the NDA," said party leader Sanjay Jaiswal.
The Chirag Paswan’s party had walked out of the NDA, saying it will not contest elections under Nitish Kumar’s leadership. It, however, favoured a post-poll alliance with the BJP.
“Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister, whatever may be the outcome in terms of numbers,” senior BJP leader Sushil Modi said. He said, if required, the BJP will write to the Election Commission against the prime minister’s photo being misused.
