Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leaders held talks on Tuesday to sort out the differences that have emerged between the two allies over the seat-sharing arrangements in Bihar.
The much-awaited meeting took place at senior Congress leader Mukul Wasnik’s official residence here after a week of tussle. Mr. Wasnik is the convener of his party’s alliance committee. Bihar Congress chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh and AICC in-charge Mohan Prakash were also present. Another meeting could take place on Wednesday before a final agreement is announced in Patna.
The two parties hit a rough patch after five-term MP Pappu Yadav, who was expelled from the RJD long back, had merged his Jan Adhikar Party with the Congress in the hope of contesting from the Purnia Lok Sabha seat. Upset with this, the RJD named Bima Bharati – who had switched from the Janata Dal (United) to the RJD – as its nominee for Purnia.
Katihar is another Lok Sabha seat where the two allies are at loggerheads. The RJD wants the seat for its former Rajya Sabha MP Ashfaq Karim, while Congress leader Tariq Anwar is a contender. The latter had won the seat in 2014 but lost in 2019 even though he had garnered around five lakh votes.
Last week, the RJD had also announced its nominees on four seats – Gaya (Kumar Sarvajeet), Aurangabad (Abhay Kushwaha), Nawada (Shravan Kushwaha) and Jamui (Archana Ravidas).
There is also disagreement over the number of seats the party has offered to the Congress. Reports suggest that the RJD has offered only six out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats.
However, after Tuesday’s meeting, the former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar reiterated that there was understanding between the INDIA bloc members, and blamed the BJP for “spreading rumours about the alliance breaking up”.
