Bihar polls: Seat sharing woes continue

Patna, Sep 7: The run up to the Bihar polls promises to be as exciting as the election result itself. Most parties are locked in a deadlock over seat sharing.

While, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has now decided to fight the polls on its own, on the other hand Jitan Ram Manjhi sent one of his aides to meet with RJD leader, Lalu Prasad Yadav.

The JMM decided to fight the battle on its own after it could not seal a pact on seat sharing with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.

Manjhi, on the other hand has sought from the BJP and allies 40 seats, but no assurance has been forthcoming as yet. Manjhi sending his aide to meet with the RJD chief according to sources in the BJP is a pressure tactic.

Seat sharing woes:

Almost all parties contesting the elections in Bihar are having trouble on the seat sharing front. Manjhi has asked the BJP to let his party, HAM(S) contest in 40 seats. The number of seats sought by Manjhi has increased in the past couple of days. He had initially sought 13 seats. However, the BJP has been non-committal on the issue and hence Manjhi was prompted to send one of his aides to meet with Yadav.

The BJP has however brushed this off and says that there have been equations changing which has led to a slight delay in the announcement of seats. Union Minister, Upendra Khushwaha leader of the RSLP which is part of the NDA said that there is no tussle where seat sharing is concerned.

The BJP on the other hand wants to contest 160 seats in Bihar. The BJP's national president Amit Shah in a clear message to the party workers said that the goal should be to get a majority on our own. He also advised the alliance partners to focus on winning and not scrambling over seat sharing.

JMM to fight it alone:

The JMM has decided that it would contest the polls on its own. The party was in talks with both the NCP and BSP. However the talks broke down over the issue of seat sharing. The JMM said that it would contest the polls on its own this time. The options for an alliance are open, JMM leader Supriyo Bhattacharya said while adding that efforts are on to reach a consensus, he also added.

The JMM has however decided not to wait until a consensus is reached. These are issues that can be worked out over the course of time. However, for now the party will begin its campaign on its own, the party leaders say.

OneIndia News