Patna: After Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the seat sharing formula for the next Lok Sabha Elections with the BJP had been sealed, another ally, Lok Jan Shakti Party, also confirmed to News18 that the talks with the BJP top leadership started a couple of days back.
This has left the third important ally Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), having more MPs than the Nitish Kumar's JD(U), in a fix as the party was awaiting a call from the BJP. Its leader and Nitish Kumar's bete noire Upendra Kushwaha recently launched scathing attack on the state government for the 'deteriorating' law and order situation.
Upset with Kushwaha's continuing tirade against him and his government, Nitish Kumar has indicated to the BJP leadership that it would be better if the former leaves the coalition as anyway he was cooking 'kheer' with the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal, sources said.
LJP parliamentary party leader Chirag Paswan told News18 on Monday evening that the seat sharing negotiations would be completed within a week. When asked with whom the party was talking to, Chirag said, "We got invitation from BJP general secretary and Bihar in-charge Bhupendra Yadav last Friday. The talks are on right track. However, we have not been able to decide the exact number of seats. We hope everything will be clear within a week."
On Nitish's claim that he has finalised the seat sharing formula, Chirag hoped that others’ interest would be taken into account as well.
"Honestly speaking I am not aware about the numbers discussed between the JD(U) and the BJP. I hope the end would be satisfactory for everyone", he added.
However, RLSP general secretary Madhav Anand rebuffed Nitish's claims and requested the BJP to call a meeting of the NDA alliance partners, a demand Upendra Kushwaha himself has made on several occasions.
“We don't believe what Nitish Kumar says. If he was so confident then why did he not announce the seats as well?” asked Madhav.
What is the agreed formula?
As reported first by News18, the BJP stuck to 20-20 formula in talks with the JD(U) according to which the party would contest on 20 seats, two less than what it won and 10 less than it contested in 2014. The JD(U) has been offered 14 seats with possibility of one more if Kushwaha decides to part ways, a close associate of Nitish told News18.
The JD(U) was reduced to two seats in 2014 elections which it fought alone after Nitish Kumar walked out of alliance with the BJP over Narendra Modi's projection as prime ministerial candidate. The RLSP contested three and won all.
Nitish Kumar himself was quoted as saying to party men in the executive committee meeting on Sunday that he has ensured “SammanJanak Samjhauta” (Respectful deal) in seat sharing with the BJP. However he did not disclose numbers saying, "Aap panic mat hoiye. Upar se kaha gaya hai isliye sankhya bad me batayenge. hamare agal bagal rehne walon ko bhi ye maloom nahi hai (You need not panic. According to the termsof the agreement, I can’t disclose the numbers now. It will be made public at appropriate time. Those close to me are also unaware about the developments."
The reason behind this secrecy lies in the BJP's future dealing with other allies the LJP and the RLSP. The JD(U) and the BJP sources said the LJP would be offered four seats, less than two it won in 2014, which will give the largest alliance partner the required room to accommodate Kushwaha with two seats if he falls in line.
The exact numbers might change if Upendra Kushwaha joins the opposition camp. "It will be simple. The BJP, the JD(U) and the LJP will contest 20, 15 and five seats respectively", a JD(U) leader said.
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