Cracks within Bihar NDA; LJP, RLSP refute seat sharing finalisation 

BJP allies LJP and RLSP leaders on Tuesday, October 23, refuted media reports that seat sharing has been finalised in the NDA for 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Bihar but there appeared to be growing restlessness on the issue in the BJP-led NDA in Patna.

Lok Janshakti Party state president Pasupati Kumar Paras, who is also minister in the NDA government led by Nitish Kumar, said no such thing has happened till date about seat sharing.

"It is only in media that seat sharing has been finalised in NDA in Bihar for 2019 polls," Paras said.

Paras, younger brother of LJP chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, told the media here that seat sharing talks would start only after Chhath, a popular festival in Bihar after Diwali, in mid November and finalisation might take place in December.

Similarly, senior Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) leader Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha said how can seat sharing be finalised without a meeting and discussion taking place. "No seat sharing has been finalised yet."

It was reported that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its major ally Janata Dal-United in Bihar have finalised the seat-sharing formula for 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

According to reports on the basis of sources in the BJP and JD-U, as per seat sharing formula has BJP has agreed to contest 17 of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, the JD-U 16, LJP five and RLSP two seats.

Both the LJP and RLSP leaders have repeatedly said that they would not contest seats less than what they had contested in 2014 Lok Sabha polls as allies of NDA.

LJP contested from seven seats and won six seats and RLSP contested three seats and won two seats.

The BJP contested from 30 seats in 2014 and won 22 seats.

In 2014, the Janata Dal-United contested on its own but performed poorly. It was only two seats.