RJD and Congress Clash Over 5 Key Bihar Constituencies Ahead of November Elections

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi have been engaged in discussions regarding seat allocation for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.

In Patna, the seat-sharing negotiations within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) are encountering challenges as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress remain divided over five key constituencies.

Sources indicate that Baisi, Bahadurganj, Raniganj, Kahlgaon, and Saharsa are the constituencies where consensus has yet to be reached between the allies. Notably, Congress had previously contested in Kahalgaon and Bahadurpur, while RJD had fought in Saharsa, Baisi, and Raniganj during the last elections, though neither party managed to win any of these seats.

The Congress party, which has allocated two seats from its quota to the India Inclusive Party (IIP), initially planned to give the Saharsa seat to its ally for the upcoming polls with IP Gupta as the candidate. However, RJD has now expressed interest in claiming this constituency.

In the previous elections, BJP's Alok Ranjan defeated RJD candidate Lovely Anand in Saharsa by 20,000 votes.

Congress has staked its claim on the Kahlgaon seat, which has historically been a Congress stronghold. Despite contesting there last year, the BJP emerged victorious. Sources reveal that RJD wants to contest from this seat, but Congress is unwilling to relinquish it.

Additionally, Congress is seeking to field candidates in Baisi and Bahadurganj in the Seemanchal region, citing its strong performance in this area during last year's Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress party currently holds three MP seats in the Seemanchal region - Kishanganj, Katihar, and Purnia - including that of Pappu Yadav.

During the 2024 state elections, the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won both Baisi and Bahadurpur seats, though these MLAs later defected to the RJD.

Sources suggest that Congress perceives some opposition against these two MLAs and believes these seats should be allocated to them based on their Lok Sabha election performance in the region.

On Saturday, AIMIM announced it had been rejected by the INDIA bloc in Bihar and now plans to contest approximately 100 seats in the upcoming elections, which is five times more than their participation in the previous elections.

According to sources, RJD is hesitant to surrender the Raniganj seat, despite losing there in the 2020 elections.

Leaders from both parties are engaged in continuous rounds of meetings to resolve issues concerning these constituencies and reach an agreement.

The allies are also experiencing tensions regarding the opposition coalition's chief ministerial candidate. RJD has consistently promoted Tejashwi Yadav as their face for the position, but recently, Congress observer and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot described this as merely part of their ally's strategy.

Bihar will conduct its elections in two phases on November 6 and 11, with vote counting scheduled for November 14.