A day after the NDA in Bihar announced its seat-sharing agreement for the November Assembly elections, there seemed to be discontent in the ruling alliance, with its smaller allies, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president Upendra Kushwaha and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, openly expressing their resentment over the allotment of six seats each to their parties.
As part of the NDA seat-sharing pact for the state’s 243 seats, the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and the BJP got 101 seats each, even as LJP (RV) chief and Union minister Chirag Paswan had his way by securing 29 seats.
Both Kushwaha and Manjhi voiced their dissent over the deal in an apparent bid to assuage their party cadres and ticket aspirants.
Kushwaha took to X to address his party workers, saying “I apologise to all of you. The number of seats couldn’t be as per your expectations. I understand this decision will hurt the feelings of thousands, including party workers who aspired to be candidates. Perhaps many households didn’t cook today. However, I hope you understand my and the party’s limitations. Some circumstances behind decisions are visible, while others aren’t. I know you’ll feel angry, which is natural, given the lack of insight into internal situations. I humbly request you to let your anger subside, and you’ll realise whether the decision was right or wrong. Time will tell.”
A prominent OBC leader, Kushwaha, who had lost from the Karakat Lok Sabha constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, does not have much bargaining power as he has already been sent to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP.
In the 2020 Assembly polls, Kushwaha had explored the option of joining hands with the Opposition Mahagathbandhan, but could not get the desired number of seats. He subsequently contested as part of an alliance of smaller parties, but could not win any seats. “Kushwaha now wants to stay afloat in NDA so that he can get renominated to Rajya Sabha. If he is able to win some Assembly seats, it will continue to keep him relevant in state politics,” said a BJP leader.
Manjhi, who had demanded 15 seats, appeared to be more forthright. “Though I accept the NDA high command’s decision, the move to give us fewer seats could hurt the NDA,” he claimed.
A former chief minister, Manjhi belongs to the Musahar (Scheduled Caste) group. Like Kushwaha, he also does not seem to have many options though, with the Mahagathbandhan itself having a problem of plenty in terms of allies. “Besides, Manjhi is a Union minister. With six seats to contest, he can win three-four seats and stay relevant in state politics,” said a HAM (S) insider.
Also, Manjhi’s son Santosh Kumar Suman is an incumbent Bihar minister and MLC, while his wife Deepa Manjhi is a party MLA from Imamganj.
Both Kushwaha and Manjhi have, however, been a “cementing social factor” for the NDA, adding to its vote base in the state. The Kushwaha community and the Musahar group account for 4.2% and 3% of the state’s population respectively.
Upset SBSP
The BJP’s Uttar Pradesh ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) declared Monday that it would contest the Bihar elections and “damage BJP and its allies”.
SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar is currently a minister in the Yogi Adityanath-led UP Cabinet. He had met several senior BJP leaders in Delhi in the last few months to seek “some space in NDA seat-sharing for the Bihar polls”.
Sources said the SBSP had earlier demanded 29 seats but later brought it down to five seats in the districts of Buxar, Sasaram, Aurangabad, Siwan and Gaya.
“We had met all the top BJP leaders and they had agreed to give us seats. SBSP was preparing for the Bihar polls for a long time. But now if anyone has arrogance and overconfidence of winning the elections, let them show how they would win,” said SBSP general secretary Arun Rajbhar.
Arun said the SBSP would field candidates in 153 seats across Bihar, even as the party released a list of 53 candidates Sunday following the NDA’s seat-sharing announcement. “We would consolidate EBC and Dalit votes and would damage the BJP, JD(U) and their allies by cutting their votes,” he claimed, maintaining that the SBSP will however continue to remain an NDA ally in UP.
As part of its preparations for the Bihar polls, the SBSP had held more than 50 rallies in different parts of the state over the last one year, trying to connect with the OBCs and Mahadalits.
The SBSP recently held its national convention and workers’ meeting in Patna.The party claims to have a support base among some OBC groups such as Rajbhar, Rajwar, Rajvanshi and Rajghosh, who reportedly make up about 4.2% of Bihar’s population. These groups are mostly concentrated in Gopalganj, Siwan, Buxar, Hajipur, Aurangabad, Gaya and Katihar.
The SBSP had contested the 2020 polls in alliance with parties like the BSP and AIMIM, but had failed to open its account.