The Left parties on Monday said they would contest the Bihar Assembly elections along with the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led Mahagathbandhan, while State chief of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party Bhudeo Chaudhury joined the RJD, and the Bheem Army joined hands with former MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav-led Jan Adhikar Party (Loktantrik) to form Pragatisheel Loktantrik Gathbandhan.
“CPI and CPI(M) leaders had a meeting with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and others and they agreed to contest the poll along with RJD-led Mahagathbandhan to defeat the ruling corrupt alliance of the NDA,” State RJD president Jagdanand Singh told mediapersons. Party sources said the RJD had agreed to leave 25 seats for the Left parties. However, the CPI(M-L) was not present at the meeting. Earlier, the CPI (M-L) had declared that it might contest on its own.
Meanwhile, the RJD is said to have offered 58 Assembly seats and the Valmikinagar Lok Sabha seat for the by-poll to the Congress to stitch the final seat sharing among the Mahagathbandhan allies. The Valmikinagar seat has fallen vacant following the death of JD(U) MP Baidyanath Prasad Mahto in February 2020.
“We don’t want to lose the Congress party … we want to contest the Assembly poll along with the Congress and other alliance partners of Mahagathbandhan … the RJD can even spare two-three more seats to the Congress to keep the alliance intact,” RJD MLA Shakti Singh Yadav said.
Join RJD
Meanwhile, amid talk of Upendra Kushwaha led-RLSP’s likely departure from the Mahagathbandhan to join the ruling National Democratic Alliance, the State party chief Bhudeo Chaudhury joined the RJD in the presence of Mr. Tejashwi Yadav. Former MP from Vaishali, Lovely Anand, wife of imprisoned Rajput leader from Saharsa, Anand Mohan Singh, too joined the RJD along with her son Chetan Anand.
In another significant development, Bheem Army chief Chandrashekhar came to Patna and declared his party’s alliance with Pappu Yadav-led Jan Adhikar Party (Loktantrik) and they named the new alliance as “Pragatisheel Loktantrik Gathbandhan.” Mr. Pappu Yadav also invited the RLSP, the Lok Janshakti Party and former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha to join their Gathbandhan (alliance). The LJP is yet to reveal whether it will remain with the NDA or part ways. However, Sharad Yadav-led Loktantrik Janata Dal has said it will contest the poll to defeat the NDA.
Nitish holds meet
On the other hand, the ruling Janata Dal (United) president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held a meeting with the party’s core team on seat sharing amid the alliance partner LJP’s persistent dilly-dallying. Earlier, Mr. Kumar had said that it was for the BJP to take a call on the LJP. Party sources said the BJP might accommodate the LJP from its own quota of seats while the JD(U) would do the same for Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), which had joined the NDA a month ago.
“In a day or two seat-sharing among NDA alliance partners will be done,” said a senior State BJP leader.
