- BJP’s first Bihar list triggers unrest among NDA allies over seat allocation.
- JD(U) resists giving key seats to Chirag Paswan’s LJP(RV).
- RLM’s Upendra Kushwaha protests loss of Mahua seat, meets Amit Shah.
- Internal rifts delay NDA’s campaign as Bihar polls near.
Harshita Rai
The release of the BJP’s first list of 71 candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections has exposed the fragile balance within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). What began as a carefully negotiated seat-sharing formula has quickly turned into a test of alliance cohesion, revealing how local ambitions and national strategies often collide in Indian coalition politics.
Under the arrangement announced earlier, the BJP and the JD(U) were allotted 101 seats each, while Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) received 29, and the smaller Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) six each. But the JD(U)’s refusal to cede seats like Sonbarsa, Rajgir, Ekma, and Morwa — initially earmarked for Paswan’s party — has signalled a brewing power struggle between Nitish Kumar’s camp and the BJP’s Delhi high command.
The JD(U)’s move to issue poll symbols independently for these constituencies underscores its discomfort with what it perceives as the BJP’s attempt to strengthen Chirag Paswan’s position at its expense. This resistance comes despite Nitish Kumar’s public assertions of “cordial talks,” suggesting that the old friction between the two partners, papered over after the 2020 election, remains unresolved.
On the other hand, Chirag Paswan, often seen as the BJP’s youthful protégé, finds himself constrained. The saffron party reportedly withheld several of its premium constituencies — including Danapur and Lalganj — from his share, forcing compromises. Paswan’s limited gain of two seats, Govindganj and Brahmapur, signals both his growing relevance and the BJP’s cautious containment strategy.
Adding to the unrest, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha has publicly objected to the Mahua seat being shifted from his party’s quota to Paswan’s, withholding election symbols in protest. His visit to Delhi for discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah underscores the urgency with which the BJP leadership must now douse the flames of dissatisfaction.
With the JD(U) and HAM already distributing poll symbols and the BJP juggling multiple disgruntled allies, the NDA’s campaign machinery appears stalled just weeks before Bihar heads to polls on November 6 and 11. The alliance’s inability to present a unified front could blunt its messaging against the opposition and revive memories of the 2020 discord that weakened its performance.
Bihar’s politics, deeply layered in caste, region, and loyalty equations, rarely forgives perceived slights or miscalculations. For the BJP, balancing the assertiveness of its smaller partners with Nitish Kumar’s sensitivities will be crucial. Any prolonged standoff could risk not just seat arithmetic but the alliance’s credibility before the electorate.
The NDA’s challenge in Bihar is not just about seat-sharing — it’s about power-sharing. If the cracks widen further, the alliance may find itself fighting not just the opposition, but its own internal contradictions.
