New Delhi: It may have been relegated to the political margins in Bihar, but the Congress is still playing tough with its old alliance partner, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in seat sharing negotiations.
Sources in both parties told ThePrint that the RJD wants to contest 20 to 22 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats while giving up to 11 seats to the Congress and the remaining to smaller alliance partners, including the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) and the Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD).
However, the seat-sharing talks have been held up as the Congress wants to contest up to 15 seats.
“There are issues related to specific seats also. Former BJP MP Kirti Azad who joined Congress won from Darbhanga constituency in 2014, a seat which one of the alliance partners, Mukesh Sahni of Vikassheel Insaan Party, is also eyeing,” a source said.
Speaking to ThePrint, RJD national spokesperson Manoj Kumar Jha said that the seat-sharing deal will be finalised by next week.
“Talks between the alliance partners are at an advanced stage. It would probably take a week to sort out all issues,” Jha said.
He refused to divulge details of the seats.
Congress’ Bihar in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil too said the two allies would firm up the seat-sharing agreement soon.
Both the RJD and the Congress said there is no plan to go it alone in Bihar, unlike Uttar Pradesh where the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have kept Congress out of the alliance.
“The question is not on forming an alliance as it is already there. It’s nitty gritties like seat-sharing that is being worked out,” said a senior Congress leader.
Besides, the Congress, RLSP and LJD, the parties that will also be a part of the non-NDA alliance led by the RJD include former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustanti Awam Morcha (HAM), CPI, CPI(M) and CPI (ML).
Also read: Pre-poll alliance of Congress, TDP, RJD & Trinamool a possibility: Chandrababu Naidu
‘RJD is the pivot’
Jha said that most of the allies that are part of the grand opposition alliance in Bihar know that the RJD is the pivot.
“Every political party would like to have a maximum share out of the 40 seats available but they also know that it cannot be at the cost of RJD. Because if your pivot is weak, if the nucleus is weak whatever structure you weave around it shall be weak. I think that message has reached all our alliance partners,” Jha said.
In 2014, the RJD had entered into an alliance with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. At the time, the RJD contested 27 seats and won four, the Congress contested 12 seats and the NCP won the lone seat it contested.
The NDA in Bihar, comprising BJP, Lok Janshakti Party and RLSP won 31 of the 40 seats while the Janata Dal (United) led by Nitish Kumar won two seats.
Jha said that the message has reached out to all the alliance partners, including the RJD, that it is better to contest one seat and win rather than contest three and lose each. “That message is reaching out to everyone, including us.”
Also read: Lalu Yadav’s sons locked in family feud, leave RJD leaders fretting
Friction with Congress over Pappu Yadav
Talks of RJD leader Pappu Yadav joining the Congress has gained ground ever since Yadav met party president Rahul Gandhi in Parliament in the first week of February. But Jha said that this was mere speculation and the Congress’ top leadership would not do anything that goes against the will and mood of the RJD cadre.
“Wherever our sensitivities are involved, the message has reached the Congress leadership and Congress leadership is mature, very sensitive. They know that RJD is one of the longest-serving partners with the Congress. We derive our strength from history and the same history, I think, Congress is also deriving its strength and their position from,” he said.
RJD stand on 10% upper caste quota
The RJD was the only party that opposed in Parliament the constitutional amendment providing 10% reservation to the economically weaker section of the upper castes.
The party has since then raked it up as one of its main election issues. RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son and leader of the opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav recently took out a yatra across the state to highlight how the government’s decision is against the interest of Dalits.
Jha said that RJD was not against the upper castes. “Our position was that you cannot tamper with, violently alter the Constitution without any evidence, without any survey, without any study. This is what we call the midnight robbery…,” he said.
This stand has resulted in many traditional social justice parties losing their plank. “In Bihar the message is very clear. It is about joblessness, attack on social justice, attack on institutions,” the RJD spokesperson added.
In the past, the Congress has not benefited from being obdurate, avaricious, the notable example being the UP Assembly election. Laluji’s family have been steadfast in their support to the Gandhis, Tejashwi is a worthy inheritor.