Congress must be realistic, RJD accommodative in seat-sharing talks for Bihar polls: Dipankar Bhattacharya

CPI(ML) Liberation, a constituent of the Grand Alliance in Bihar, hoped that the Congress would adopt a "more realistic" approach in the ongoing seat-sharing talks for the upcoming assembly elections, drawing lessons from its performance in the 2020 polls when it had "bitten off more than it could possibly chew".

The Left party's general secretary, Dipankar Bhattacharya, asserted that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) which is the largest partner of the opposition Grand Alliance, also known as 'Mahagathbandhan', should be "more accommodative" of smaller allies as the INDIA bloc in Bihar is likely to expand with the probable entry of new players.

Mr. Bhattacharya said his party was hoping to contest at least 40 of the 243 seats, up from 19 it had fought in the previous election.

At the same time, he made it clear that there was "no ambiguity" over RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav being the bloc's chief ministerial face if the Grand Alliance came to power.

"Talks are underway... Things got a little delayed because of the agitation over Special Intensive Revision (SIR), because of the time and energy we had to devote to this disruption. But I am hopeful that by the end of this month, we will have a clearer picture," Mr. Bhattacharya told PTI in an interview.

On Congress' demand for more seats after its recent 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', Mr. Bhattacharya was blunt, "I saw reports about some Congress leaders seeking around 70 seats. But last time they contested 70 and managed to win only 19." He contrasted this with the 2015 polls when the RJD-JD(U)-Congress coalition, which kept the Left out, had performed better.

"In 2015, Congress contested 40 seats and won 27. That was a very good strike rate. But in 2020, when they contested 70, it was biting off more than they could possibly chew. So I think the balance should be somewhere in between," he remarked.

"Maybe contesting fewer seats than last time but winning more and performing better... would be in the interest of the Congress, and definitely that of the entire INDIA bloc," he added, urging the party to be "realistic".

In the 2020 elections, the Grand Alliance — then comprising the RJD, Congress and Left parties — gave a spirited fight but fell short of majority, with political observers blaming the grand old party's poor strike rate for dragging the alliance down.

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The RJD had emerged as the single-largest party, winning 75 of the 144 seats it contested, while Congress won only 19. The CPI(ML) Liberation emerged as the surprise performer, winning 12 of the 19 seats it contested, while CPI and CPI(M) bagged two each.

Mr. Bhattacharya also said that the RJD, as the biggest partner, followed by the Congress, must be flexible and accommodative.

"The CPI(ML) Liberation was underrepresented last time and we want fair representation this time. There are new allies too, which means RJD and Congress will have to contest fewer seats compared to 2020. They have to be more accommodative," he said.

Currently, six parties form the Grand Alliance — RJD, Congress, CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI, CPI(M) and Mukesh Sahni's Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), a new entrant. The Lok Janshakti Party (Paras faction) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) are also likely to be part of it ahead of the polls due later this year.

"We will have to accommodate a few more people. I am not sure if JMM will contest as a party or field some candidates... But the point is, the alliance has grown bigger and we need to reflect that in seat-sharing," he said.

On the Mahagathbandhan's CM candidate, he said, "There may not be any formal announcement, but RJD is the biggest party of the INDIA bloc. So, the leader of the opposition (Tejashwi Yadav) is obviously the chief ministerial face. There is no ambiguity about it."

"The only reason why this formal announcement is not being made is probably because people think you don't put the cart before the horse. We will cross the bridge when we come to it, after securing a majority," he said.

Asked about the possibility of deputy chief ministers, following subtle demands by certain allies, Mr. Bhattacharya said, "These things can wait till we have a clear picture after the elections." Mr. Bhattacharya said CPI(ML) Liberation hopes to contest more seats and districts this time.

"Last time, we contested only 19 seats but won 12. More than that, we contested from only 12 of Bihar's 38 districts. So we hope we get to contest from more districts, on more seats," he said.

"We have already submitted a list of some 40 seats. The talks are on. We want to contest from both south and north Bihar. Because, wherever we contested last time, if you look at those districts, you will see that we managed to lift the performance of the whole coalition," he added.

Mr. Bhattacharya said the INDIA bloc was determined not to repeat the "near-miss of 2020".

"Last time, the INDIA bloc gave a good fight but missed the mark. That is why we hope we get a decisive mandate this time because if it is a narrow majority, it will be very difficult to sustain the government with the kind of dirty games the BJP plays," he said.

In 2020, the BJP had won 74 seats, whereas its ally Nitish Kumar's JD(U) bagged 43 seats. The VIP, which was then part of NDA, and Hindustani Awam Morcha won four seats each.

On the ruling NDA's possible strategy, he scoffed, "They are all pretending that Nitish Kumar is their chosen CM candidate till 2030 but in reality, there is a very strong anti-incumbency and anger against the NDA government in Bihar."