Patna: With Bihar set to go to the polls later this year, the Mahagathbandhan (Indian Bloc) has intensified its preparations. On July 30, a key coordination committee meeting was convened at the Patna residence of Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
The meeting brought together representatives from RJD, Congress, the three major Left parties—CPI, CPM, CPI-ML—and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP). Discussions focused primarily on finalising seat-sharing arrangements among the alliance partners for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, expected in October or November.
Tejashwi, who chairs the Mahagathbandhan coordination committee, presided over the talks. Congress state president Rajesh Ram, speaking to the media before the meeting, said that “constructive progress” had been made in earlier sessions and that today’s meeting was expected to yield further clarity. He emphasised that there was “no internal conflict” over the seat-sharing formula.
However, VIP chief Mukesh Sahni’s demand for 60 seats and the Deputy Chief Minister’s post has added pressure to the negotiations. Though Sahni did not attend the meeting personally—citing engagements in Delhi—his party was represented by state president Bal Govind Bind.
Responding to Mukesh’s demand, Rajesh Ram said every party in the alliance had the right to stake its claim, including RJD, Congress and the Left. Talks are also ongoing to potentially include Pashupati Paras’s RLSP in the alliance, though a proposal from Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM was declined by the RJD.
Meanwhile, the NDA has begun making overtures to Mukesh. Minister Santosh Suman remarked that Tejashwi would not offer him 60 seats, urging him to return to the BJP-led alliance.
