New Delhi: Amid the buzz around seat-sharing within the Opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc, the Congress said less than a “respectable” number of seats in Bihar will not only affect the party but also the entire ruling ‘Mahagathbandhan’, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U), news agency PTI reported.
Speculations are rife that the grand old party has been asked to settle for not more than four out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.
“The Mahagathbandhan as a whole, including the JD(U), will suffer if the Congress fights only four seats, though it is not our case that we be given nine just because we had contested that many in 2019,” PTI quoted Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh as saying.
According to reports, the JD(U) has asked to keep 17 seats for itself, like it did in the last general elections. The JD(U) had bagged 16 seats and was defeated in one. A close aide of CM Nitish Kumar made it clear that for the JD(U), a number less than 16, which is its current strength in Lok Sabha, is out of the question.
“We have 16 seats. On these, the question of a claim or any confusion should not arise. Whatever may be the demand of the Congress, it should convey the same to the RJD. We will be sitting across the table with the RJD for final discussions on seat sharing,” PTI quoted JD(U) national general secretary Sanjay Kumar Jha as saying.
The JD(U) leader’s claim comes in the wake of a general consensus that may have been reached within the Mahagathbandhan that since the Nitish Kumar’s party was a new entrant, the RJD be allowed to negotiate on behalf of the smaller partners.
However, deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav has denied having taken up the issue with CM Kumar, PTI reported.
“He is the CM and I am the deputy. There can be any number of issues for us to discuss. Do not worry too much about seat-sharing. We will let you know in due course,” Tejashwi had earlier told the media.