Patna: The nomination process for the Bihar Assembly elections began on Friday, but both of the state’s main political groups — the ruling NDA and the opposition Grand Alliance — have yet to finalise their seat-sharing agreements. Within the Grand Alliance, a new dispute has arisen after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), a partner in the coalition, announced that it wants to contest 12 assembly seats in Bihar. This demand has caused growing tension among the alliance partners.
The JMM, which is in power in Jharkhand, wants to contest seats in tribal-dominated areas along the Bihar–Jharkhand border. These include Tarapur, Katoria, Manihari, Jhajha, Pirpainti, Thakurganj, Banka, Rupauli, Chakai, Jamalpur, Banmankhi, and Ramnagar. However, sources in the Grand Alliance say that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the largest party in the alliance, is willing to offer the JMM no more than five seats. The disagreement has created a fresh hurdle in the alliance’s efforts to present a united front for the elections.
JMM General Secretary Vinod Kumar Pandey said that the party has already shared its proposal with the alliance leaders. He added that a final decision will be taken only after discussions between Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and other members of the All India Alliance. Pandey expressed hope that the talks would be completed within a day or two, but the uncertainty continues to delay the Grand Alliance’s candidate announcement.
Apart from the JMM’s claim, other alliance partners like the Congress, the Left parties, and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) have also been asking for more seats. This growing competition among allies has put the RJD in a tough position as it tries to keep all partners satisfied. Meanwhile, the ruling NDA is facing similar challenges, as it too has not yet finalised its seat-sharing plan. With the nomination process already underway, both alliances are running against time to resolve these internal issues and start their election campaigns.
