All’s not well in Mahagathbandhan? Congress, RJD to fight each other on 6 Bihar seats

Not all is well in the Mahagathbandhan as internal divisions will result in direct contests on 11 seats. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress will face each other on six seats, the CPI and Congress on four, and Mukesh Sahani's Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) will challenge the RJD on one seat -- Chainpur.

This became apparent after the RJD released a list of 143 candidates, including seats also contested by Congress, highlighting ongoing conflict within the bloc just ahead of the first phase of the Bihar polls. The seats where RJD will face off against the Congress are Vaishali, Sikandra, Kahalgaon, Sultanganj, Narkatiaganj, and Warsaliganj.

The last date for withdrawal of candidature for the second phase is 23 October, after which the final candidate rosters will be confirmed. As per political experts, such internal face-offs are likely to split the opposition vote and benefit the BJP-led NDA in several constituencies. 

Meanwhile, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and union minister Chirag Paswan said that the Mahagathbandhan gave the NDA a walkover on many "challenging seats". This, however, is not about it when it comes to the cracks and divisions in the INDI alliance in Bihar.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), an important ally in the INDIA bloc, has confirmed it will not participate in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, citing unresolved seat-sharing disputes with the RJD.

JMM's withdrawal comes as candidate lists show direct contests among alliance partners in 11 constituencies, signalling tension within the opposition. The nomination deadline has passed, with JMM not declaring any candidates despite earlier announcements.

JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya had outlined plans to contest from six constituencies—Jamui, Chakai, Dhamdaha, Manihari, Pirpainti, and Katoria—but no candidate names were released before the nomination process closed on 20 October, confirming the party's absence from the polls.JMM minister Sudivya Kumar blamed the RJD for the breakdown in seat-sharing talks, calling their conduct "political cunningness" and expressing a sense of betrayal.

He stated, "I used the term 'political cunningness' because when I went to Patna on October 7 as a representative of my party, the talks were cordial. It didn't seem like the INDIA bloc would try to exclude JMM from the Bihar polls. If they wanted to deny us participation, they should have said so clearly. But from October 7 to 20, they neither gave us a yes nor any clarity. RJD indulged in political cunningness; this is not appropriate in politics."

With nominations closed, election campaigns across Bihar are set to commence. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will lead his party's efforts from Muzaffarpur, while other major parties, including the BJP, are preparing to launch their campaigns across 121 constituencies.