The Bihar Assembly polls are approaching, but the opposition coalition, Mahagathbandhan, still has not finalized its seat-sharing. Inspite of continuous discussions between the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Lalu Prasad Yadav party announced its list of candidates on Monday. The list consists of 143 candidates decided by RJD. Former Deputy Chief Minister and senior leader Tejashwi Yadav will fight from Raghopur constituency in Vaishali district.
RJD published its official list on the last date of nomination filing for the second phase of Bihar polls. First phase nomination filing ended on October 17, and withdrawal of nominations is possible until Monday. Congress has already finalized 60 candidates.
It is reported that the Mahagathbandhan allies are still not clear on seat allotment. Political watchers say a possible reason for the delay is mounting distance between RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi. Therefore, the alliance has made no public declaration regarding seat sharing.
There is a lack of coordination of the alliance. In the initial phase, elections will be conducted for 121 seats, but the opposition alliance has already nominated 125 candidates. This overlap speaks volume about differences between the alliance partners over seat allocations.
The elections for the Bihar Assembly are on November 6 and November 11. The counting of votes will be done on November 14, and the results will be declared the same day.
