3 days left to file Phase 1 papers, opposition yet to finalise seat deal

PATNA: As suspense deepened over INDIA bloc’s seat-sharing formula in Bihar, Congress’s central election committee met in Delhi Tuesday evening to finalise candidates for the Nov state polls. The meeting came amid signs that talks with key ally RJD have resumed after days of uncertainty.Congress election committee is learnt to have discussed 26 seats. Sources said the party has reviewed a total of 72 seats till now, but without a clear indication as to how many it will contest as part of the seat-sharing deal with the allies.Congress is likely to get up to 60 seats as its share in the alliance. At the CEC meeting, party president Mallikarjun Kharge is learnt to have told the panel that the screening committees should narrow down the search to a single candidate and then bring it before the CEC, expressing his dissatisfaction with the panel of names put before the committee headed by him.Adding intrigue to the INDIA uncertainty, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha posted a cryptic couplet on social media — “Rahiman dhaga prem ka, mat todo chhitkay (Rahim says, do not break the thread of love)…” — while discussions between Congress and its ally gained pace. Opposition politicians are expected to announce the seat-sharing deal in Patna Wednesday, sources said.With just three days left before nominations close for the first phase, covering 121 of Bihar’s 243 seats, the alliance — comprising RJD, Congress, Left parties, and Vikassheel Insaan Party — is under pressure to finalise the seat allocations.

A senior Congress functionary said the atmosphere had improved. “Relations have got sweeter again and the number is not an issue now. Well, there remain some hitches over the exchange of seats, which will be settled in due course,” he added.Sources said Congress has been offered two options — contest around 60 seats, or take 73 seats if Mukesh Sahani’s VIP is accommodated from its share. Monday’s talks between Congress managers and RJD functionary Tejashwi Yadav reportedly paved the way for Tuesday’s CEC meeting, suggesting a formula might already be agreed upon, pending formal announcement.The evening saw further developments. CPI-ML, a key Left ally, withdrew its list of candidates, signalling progress in negotiations. RJD allegedly reclaimed poll symbols issued to aspirants earlier. “We are not aware of it,” said RJD state spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav. “None could put pressure on RJD. We work with ideological commitments which can’t be changed. An alliance means mutual harmony. When everyone’s opinions are respected, it is an alliance.

”Amid speculation, an RJD MP close to party patriarch Lalu Prasad’s family was seen near the CM House past midnight Monday, further fuelling chatter of behind-the-scenes talks. Members of INDIA bloc have largely avoided public comments, choosing to stay ambiguous about the ongoing negotiations.This prolonged uncertainty marks a rare delay in Bihar’s political playbook — the first time in nearly three decades that seat-sharing talks among allies have stretched so close to the nomination deadline, leaving both party cadres and voters guessing about how the opposition alliance will take shape at the EVMs.