With days before the Election Commission of India (ECI) declare the dates for the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar, it appears that gaps have appeared in the Mahagathbandhan, as two Left parties - Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) - have demanded that they should be allocated 35 seats.
While the CPI said it wants to contest on 24 seats, the CPM has demanded 11 seats. The demand was made by the two Left parties at a joint conference.
During the presser, they also criticised the delay in announcing the seat-sharing formula, saying it could lead to 'confusion' and highlights the weakness in the grand alliance. They also expressed hopes that the Mahagathbandhan's larger members, referring to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress, would allow the smaller partners to contest on more seats.
"The big parties in Mahagathbandhan will have to sacrifice a few of their seats in favour of CPI and CPI(M)," CPI state secretary Ram Naresh Pandey said.
The Left parties have also cited their performance in the 2020 Bihar elections, demanding more seats this time. In the 2020 Bihar polls, the CPI won two seats out of the six it contested, while the CPM won two seats out of the four it contested. Meanwhile, CPI-ML won 12 out of the 19 seats it contested.
"We are parties with reliable grassroots cadre, strong organisational capacity, and firm ideological control over our workers. Over the last five years, we have worked consistently on the ground to mobilise our cadre to remove the NDA government from power. If we contest on a greater number of seats, Mahagathbandhan will benefit," CPI(M) state secretary Lalan Choudhary said.
Mahagathbandhan's seat-sharing dilemma?
Like the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Mahagathbandhan is also facing a dilemma over the seat-sharing formula. As per reports, the RJD aims to contest on 150 seats, a move that would leave only 93 seats out of Bihar's 243 constituencies.
Last month, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav also hinted that his party would contest on majority of seats after he said that he himself will contest on all 243 seats. "You all have to stay united, and this time, Tejashwi will contest elections on 243 seats... I will request all the party leaders to fight the elections unitedly," he said at a rally in Muzaffarpur.
However, the smaller parties of the grand alliance, particularly the Left parties, expect a larger share. And with the addition of Mukesh Sahni-led Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Pashupati Kumar Paras-led Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) to the Mahagathbandhan have made things complicated for the alliance to finalise the seat-sharing pact.
