After protracted and patience-testing negotiations, the Grand Alliance (GA) on Monday evening made the constituency-wise allocation of seats among its constituents - Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and the Left parties - ahead of the first phase of elections on October 28.
A formal declaration of seats by the RJD and the Congress is likely on Tuesday. However, most of the selected candidates of both the parties have been asked to kick off electioneering in their respective constituencies forthwith.
The RJD is said to have offered symbols to the shortlisted candidates confidentially to avoid protest by the candidates and their supporters due to denial of tickets. The Congress too finalised the list of 41 candidates out of 70 after hours of deliberations in New Delhi on Monday evening. Candidates for the remaining seats will be selected on Tuesday.
Senior leaders of both the parties said that the list of constituency-wise candidates going to the poll in the first phase would be announced on Tuesday. As many as 71 out of 243 constituencies would go to polls in the first phase on October 28, the nomination for which would end on October 8.
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The RJD is slated to contest 39 seats, while the Congress has identified 23 seats to field its candidates during the elections in the first phase. The Left parties, including the Community Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPI(ML)), the Community Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) have announced their candidates for all 29 seats they have been allocated.
As per the seat-sharing deal formalised on October 3, the RJD has been offered 144 seats, in which Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) would be accommodated, the Congress has been offered 70 seats, 19 for the CPI (ML), six for the CPI and four for the CPM.
The allocation of seats turned out to be upsetting for many leaders, as a few sitting legislators had to give in in the wake of seat-adjustments among the allies. The residence of former CM and RJD leader Rabri Devi witnessed vociferous protests by supporters of party leaders who were denied tickets.
A controversial Congress leader Lalan Yadav and former BPCC secretary Neetu Devi have been named to contest from Sultanganj (Bhagalpur) and Hisua (Nawada) constituencies as Congress nominees. Former minister Shyam Rajak, who recently joined the RJD, and sitting MLA of Karakat Sanjay Yadav are learnt to have been denied the tickets by the party.
Children of senior RJD leaders like Sudhakar Singh (son of state RJD chief Jagadanand Singh), Rahul Tiwari (son of Shivanand Tiwari), Rishi Singh (son of former Union minister Kanti Singh) and Divya Kirti (daughter of former Union minister Jai Prakash Narain Yadav) have been given the party tickets.
The first phase of polling is scheduled to be held in parts or whole of Bhagalpur, Banka, Munger, Sheikhpura, Patna, Bhojpur, Buxar, Kaimur, Rohtas, Arwal, Jehanabad, Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada and Jamui districts.
