Bihar elections: Local parties push for seats early

With Bihar Assembly elections due in under six months, smaller regional parties have started staking claims in both the INDIA bloc and NDA.

VIP chief Mukesh Sahni has demanded 60 seats within INDIA and made overtures to the BJP by praising PM Modi. CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya said his party aims to contest 40-45 seats. A Thursday meeting in Patna saw INDIA partners agree to a winnability-based seat-sharing formula, angering Jharkhand's JMM, which wants a slice of the Bihar pie. In the NDA, Union Minister Chirag Paswan is asserting LJP(RV)'s claim for a "respectable" number of seats and will contest himself. HAM's Jitan Ram Manjhi has sought around 10 seats, while RLM's Upendra Kushwaha recently showcased his strength in Muzaffarpur.

Leading parties like BJP, JD(U), and RJD remain tight-lipped, indicating that serious negotiations will begin closer to the polls.