Many JD(U) MLAs to lose out as Nitish Kumar hands over 39 party's seats to RJD, Congress

PATNA: The ‘Mahagathbandhan’ now remains an alliance of just three parties as the JD(U), RJD and Congress on Saturday distributed all 243 seats of Bihar assembly among themselves. As per seat distribution finalised on this evening, JD(U) and RJD will contest on 101 seat each while Congress on the rest 41 seats. Notwithstanding wide speculations in media, no seats was left for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
State level leaders of the three parties, while addressing a joint press conference here, also issued three lists of constituencies from where the JD(U), RJD and Congress would field their respective candidates.
As soon as the names of allotted constituencies displayed on news channels, it led to heart burns in the JD(U) and RJD as many of their ‘sitting’ candidates fear losing party symbol for the ensuing polls. The list caused widespread anger among the JD(U) MLAs as Nitish Kumar’s party has made ‘enormous sacrifice’ to accommodate the demands of alliance partners like RJD and Congress. The Congress with 41 seats, has emerged out as the most gainer among the three parties.
Besides leaving its two ‘seating’ seats- Mahua and Raghopur in Vaishali district- for RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s two sons-Tej Pratap and Tejaswi, the JD(U) has sacrificed to RJD its 26 seats and another 13 seats to Congress which JD(U) candidates had won in the last 2010 assembly elections. Thus, the JD(U) sacrificed a total of 39 seats to its two allies. In contrast, the RJD has handed over to JD(U) only two seats which Lalu Prasad’s party had won in 2010 elections. The Congress got all its five seating seats and made no sacrifice of seats either to the JD(U) and RJD.
As per the seat distribution, the JD(U) will this year contest on 79 of 118 seats (including three of LJP later merged in JD-U) it won in 2010 elections besides 18 seats won by BJP, two seats of RJD and two seats won by independents in 2010 polls. The RJD will contest on 22 seats it won either in 2010 elections or 2014 bye-elections, besides 26 won by the JD(U), 48 by BJP, one by JMM and four seats won by Independents in the 2010 polls. Similarly, the most advantageous party Congress would contest on all five seats it won either in 2010 polls or 2014 by-polls, 13 of JD(U), one of CPI and 22 won by the BJP in 2010 polls.
Thus, the JD (U) and Congress will, this year, contest from 18 and 22 seats respectively won by BJP in 2010 polls, while RJD from 48 seats held by the BJP.
The prominent JD(U) MLAs, who fear losing the party’s symbols due to ‘transfer’ of their seats either to RJD or Congress, are former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Samdhin Jyoti Manjhi from Barachatti (Gaya), Shyam Bihari Prasad (Narkatiya), Guddi Devi (Runnisaidpur), Sujata Devi (Pipra), Chhote Lal Rai (Parsa), Sanjay Kumar (Rajapakar), Satish Kumar (Raghopur), who joined BJP on Saturday, Ram Chandra Sada (Alouli), Anant Kumar Satyarthi (Munger), Usha Sinha (Hilsa), Arun Manjhi (Masaurhi), Abhiram Sharma (Jehanabad), Krishnandan Yadav (Atri), Purnima Yadav (Nawada) and her husband Kaushal Yadav (Gobindpur), Gajanand Shahi (Barbigha) and more than a dozen others.