Bihar assembly elections: Two more parties join Mahagathbandhan; seat-sharing deal to get complex?

NEW DELHI: The seat-sharing negotiations for upcoming assembly elections in Bihar have become more complex as two new parties - Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Pashupati Paras's LJP faction - joined the Mahagathbandhan alliance. The situation is getting trickier as major parties are firm on their seat demands.The 243 seats will now be divided among eight parties -- Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, CPI, CPM, VIP, LJP (Paras) and JMM.“Two more parties are expected to be part of the INDIA bloc soon and we all have to sacrifice our share of seats to accommodate the new partners.” State Congress president Rajesh Kumar told reporters after a discussion during a key meeting of INDIA bloc leaders at the official residence of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.Meanwhile, Congress insist that it cannot go below the 70 seats.VIP chief Mukesh Sahani, on the other hand, has demanded “60 seats plus the post of deputy CM” while the CPI-ML is pressing for at least 40 seats, pointing to its past performance.The RJD is also unwilling to contest on fewer than 150 seats.In 2020 assembly elections, Rashtriya Janata Dal had contested on 144 seats, of which it won 75.Congress won 19 out of 70 seats.CPI-ML contested 19 seats and won 12.CPM contested 4 seats and was successful in winning 2 seats.CPI contested on 6 seats and won 2 seats.RJD's Tejashwi Yadav has already declared himself as the CM face of the opposition INDIA bloc.Addressing the rally in Ara town, the last stopover of the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', Tejashwi questioned the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar for "frequently copying his ideas" and described it as a "copycat government". Ridiculing the government for copying his ideas, he said that at present he was moving ahead while the govt was behind him."Tejashwi aage-aage, Sarkar pichhe-pichhe. Original CM chahiye ki duplicate?" (Tejashwi is moving ahead while the govt is following him from behind. Do you want a duplicate CM or the original CM?), Tejashwi asked the crowd.