Despite several rounds of negotiations between the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Opposition Mahagatbandhan parties were unable to prevent “friendly fights” in 11 seats in Bihar. The Congress is in the contest in nine such seats, facing off against the Tejashwi Prasad Yadav-led RJD in five seats and against the CPI in four. The RJD and Mukesh Sahani’s Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) are facing off in two constituencies.
While seven of these constituencies are currently held by NDA parties, one was won by a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate who later switched to the JD(U), and the rest are with the Opposition. In an election of fine margins — the difference between the two coalitions was 0.03% vote share and 15 seats in 2020 — “friendly fights” in 11 seats could be a decisive factor.
The Congress and the RJD are up against each other in:
🔴 Vaishali (in the district of the same name): This seat is currently held by the JD(U)’s Siddharth Patel, who defeated the Congress’s Sanjeev Singh by 7,413 votes. While both parties have repeated their candidates, the RJD has fielded Ajay Kumar Kushwaha, who finished third in 2020 after polling 17% of votes as a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) candidate.
🔴 Kahalgaon (Bhagalpur district): This constituency was once associated with veteran Congress leader, former Bihar Speaker, and the party’s Kurmi face Sadanand Singh who represented it nine times between 1969 and 2015: from 1969 to 1985; 2000 to 2005 (he won in the February elections but lost the next one in October), and 2010 to 2020. The Congress fielded his son Shubhanand Mukesh five years ago, but he lost to the BJP’s Pawan Kumar Yadav by 42,893 votes.
This time, the equations have shifted as Mukesh has moved to the JD(U) is contesting Kahalgaon, while the BJP expelled Pawan Kumar Yadav on Sunday for engaging in “anti-party activities”. In a bid to regain its former stronghold, the Congress has fielded its 2020 Patna Sahib candidate Pravin Singh Kushwaha and the RJD has gone with Rajnish Bharti, whose father and RJD leader Sanjay Prasad Yadav is a minister in the Jharkhand government.
🔴 Narkatiaganj (West Champaran): The Congress was the runner-up in 2020, with the BJP’s Rashmi Varma defeating her brother-in-law and sitting Congress MLA Vinay Varma, whose family owned the Shikarpur estate in West Champaran. In 2022, Varma faced calls for resignation after her brother was arrested in the UP TET paper leak case.
This time, the party has replaced her with Sanjay Pandey, while the Congress has nominated Shashwat Kedar, the grandson of former Bihar CM Kedar Pandey.
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🔴 Sikandra (Jamui): The Congress has fielded Binod Kumar Choudhary from the seat that Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) won five years ago, defeating the Congress by 5,505 votes. The RJD has fielded former Assembly Speaker Uday Narain Chaudhary, while the HAM(S) has re-nominated sitting MLA Prafull Kumar Manjhi.
🔴 Sultanganj (Bhagalpur): This seat has been with the JD(U) since 2005. The Congress has fielded Lalan Kumar, and the RJD has given the ticket to Chandan Kumar Singh, while the ruling party has fielded sitting MLA Lalit Narayan Mandal.
The Congress and the CPI are in “friendly fights” in:
🔴 Bachhwara (Begusarai district): Last time, the CPI’s Abdesh Kumar Rai lost to the BJP’s Surendra Mehta by 484 votes. This time, the Congress has fielded Bihar Youth Congress president Shiv Prakash Garib Das, who contested the 2020 polls as an Independent and finished third. The BJP has re-nominated Mehta.
🔴 Biharsharif (Nalanda): The RJD’s Sunil Kumar had lost to the BJP’s Dr Sunil Kumar in 2020 by 15,102 votes. This time, the Congress has fielded Omair Khan, one of its 10 Muslim candidates, while the CPI has nominated Shiv Kumar Yadav. The BJP has repeated the MLA.
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🔴 Rajapakar (Vaishali district): The Congress had edged out the JD(U) here the last time by 1,796 votes. This time, the party has fielded sitting MLA Pratima Kumari, while Nitish Kumar’s party has given a chance to Mahendra Ram to avenge his 2020 loss. The CPI has fielded Mohit Paswan.
🔴 Kargahar (Rohtas): The Congress defeated the JD(U) here in 2020 by 4,083 votes. This time, the party has fielded sitting MLA Santosh Kumar Mishra, while the CPI has gone with Mahendra Prasad Gupta. The JD(U) has repeated former MLA Bashishth Singh, who was the runner-up last time.
RJD vs VIP:
🔴 Gaura Bauram (Darbhanga): The Mukesh Sahani-led party, whose main voter base is the Nishad community, won the seat in 2020 when it was part of the NDA. Back then, its candidate Swarna Singh defeated the RJD’s Afzal Ali Khan by 7,280 votes. This time, the party’s president, Santosh Sahani, the younger brother of party founder and Mahagathbandhan’s Deputy CM face Mukesh Sahani, is the candidate, while the RJD has repeated Khan.
🔴 Chainpur (Kaimur): Back in 2020, this seat, which falls under the Sasaram Lok Sabha constituency, was won by the BSP’s Mohd Zama Khan who later switched to the JD(U) and became a minister in the Nitish Kumar government. The RJD has fielded former MLA Brij Kishor Bind, who had finished second in 2020 on a BJP ticket. With the seat having been allocated to the JD(U), Bind moved to the RJD in September. The VIP candidate is its state president Govind Vind, while Zama Khan will look to retain the seat.
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The number of “friendly fights” could have been higher had it not been for a last-minute agreement between the allies. The Congress withdrew its candidates in Lalganj (Vaishali district), Pranpur (Katihar), and Warsaliganj (Nawada), all three of which are being contested by the RJD. The VIP’s Bindu Gulab Yadav, too, withdrew her nomination in Babubarhi (Madhubani), where RJD leader Arun Kumar Singh is set to take on sitting JD(U) MLA Mina Kumari. The RJD had finished second here in 2020.
The CPI and the Congress were also headed towards a direct contest in Rosera (Samastipur), but the candidature of the Left party’s nominee was rejected during scrutiny, leaving only the Congress in the fray from the Opposition coalition. Similarly, after the Congress candidate’s nomination was rejected in Ramnagar (West Champaran), the RJD is representing the Mahagathbandhan in the contest.
Damage control
RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said these 11 friendly fights would have no impact on the Opposition’s electoral prospects. “People in all 243 seats will vote for Tejashwi Yadav ji. The grand alliance will win in these constituencies. There is a possibility that the candidates of other allies in such seats formally announce their support for the RJD before polling.”
VIP spokesperson Debjyoti claimed the RJD candidates would back his party’s nominees in both Chainpur and Gaura Bauram. “The RJD candidates will announce their support for the VIP during the joint campaign,” he said.
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Asked about the nine seats where both the Congress and the RJD are contesting, state Congress spokesperson Gyan Ranjan claimed it was a “strategic move” on the Opposition alliance’s part. But, a senior party leader said the fight in these seats would be quite “unfriendly” contests.
— With inputs from Santosh Singh in Patna