New Delhi: The seat-sharing agreement that was simultaneously announced by all National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners on Sunday as a show of unity has quickly given way to public discontent from two allies — Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) [HAM] and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) — who are aggrieved over being allotted only six seats each.
The NDA had unveiled the agreement on Sunday evening. The final seat allocation, declared by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, stated that the BJP and Janata Dal (United) would contest 101 seats each, Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP (RV)] 29 seats, and HAM (S) and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM six seats each.
However, by night, two of the five partners had publicly expressed disappointment over the “treatment” they had received. Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who had been demanding 15 seats for his party, told reporters that the NDA had undervalued his organisation and warned that such decisions could have repercussions within the alliance.
“What the high command decided, we accepted, but by giving six seats, they have undervalued us. It may have repercussions in the NDA,” he said.
Similarly, Kushwaha on Sunday night issued an apology note to his supporters for not being able to secure more seats. On Monday morning, he posted a couplet suggesting that the developments had taken place under a conspiracy.
While the disappointment of these two leaders has surfaced publicly, resentment is also brewing within the JD(U), especially among those aligned with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, over the BJP’s decision to give 29 seats to Chirag Paswan.
It is understood that the seats of the JD(U), HAM, and RLM were reduced to accommodate Paswan’s party. As per reports, while Paswan was publicly demanding 40 seats, he was aiming for 20–25; the final numbers thus exceeded his expectations. Both Kushwaha and Manjhi believe that, in promoting Paswan’s cause, the BJP leadership has ignored their interests.
Within the JD(U), many leaders have yet to forget the losses the party suffered in the 2020 polls, which they claim were engineered by Paswan, who had then contested separately in a conspiracy with certain BJP leaders to dent the JD(U) despite it being part of the BJP-led alliance.
Sources said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had resisted giving Paswan more seats than “he deserved,” but his objections were overlooked. “It appears that whatever we wanted and deserved, was denied. Whatever Chirag wanted and didn’t deserve, was allowed,,” a senior leader with one of the alliance partners told this newspaper on Monday morning.
The BJP would have to aim for a strike rate of at least 80 percent for itself. If it falls short, it would not be surprising if the regional allies begin reassessing their political alignments after November 14, especially in light of possible offers of the chief minister’s post and key ministries.
The NDA is expected to release its list of candidates in Patna on Monday evening. However, just four days before nominations for the first phase close, the alliance would have hoped to be in a better optical position than it finds itself in now.
