NDA allies pressure BJP to finalise seat sharing for Bihar polls

Two days after Janata Dal-United’s Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad announced their seat sharing for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls, BJP’s allies are pressuring the party to finalise its list.

Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan’s son Chirag Paswan met with BJP president Amit Shah on Friday to discuss seat sharing, said a BJP leader. LJP is an ally of the BJP in Bihar and Chirag is the chairman of its parliamentary board.

According to sources in the LJP, the party has demanded more than 50 seats in the 243 seat Bihar assembly. Earlier the LJP has staked claim to 80 seats, but now 
it has lowered its demand in view of changed political equations.

Another BJP ally, the Rasjhtriya Lok Samta Party of Union minister Upender Kushwaha wants to contest more than 60 seats, while new ally Hindustan Awami Morcha of former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is eyeing 50 seats.

However, a powerful lobby of BJP leaders -- mostly from the upper castes -- want to give no more than 70-80 assembly seats to its three allies. Though some BJP leaders are willing to be a more flexible to accommodate allies.

Criminal-turned-politician and expelled RJD MP Pappu Yadav, who had floated a new political party -- Jan Adhikar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday in Delhi and may contest the polls as an NDA ally.

In a bid to widen its social support base in caste ridden Bihar politics, the BJP is determined to come to power by making new friends.