Going by its experience in the 2015 Bihar polls, the problem with BJP is that it may not blindly allow the all... Read More

(This story originally appeared in on Jul 16, 2018)

Even as BJP chief Amit Shah recently sent out a message that all is well between his party and the Janata Dal United, it will be a tough task for his party to deal with all National Democratic Alliance allies in Bihar to give final shape to a seat-sharing formula on 40 seats for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

While the JD(U)’s apparent concern is to ensure its status as equal partner of the BJP within the NDA in the state, NDA’s other ally – the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party ( RLSP ) headed by union minister Upendra Kushwaha — has been keeping its card close to its chest on seat-sharing arrangement.

Another ally — Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) — is also trying to maintain its current political status. Out of the seven seats it contested as an NDA ally in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, it won six.

Going by its experience in the 2015 Bihar assembly polls, the problem with the BJP is that it may not blindly allow the allotment of seats among its allies without assessing the winability factor of the candidates.

“Since a SP-BSP alliance is on cards in Uttar Pradesh, BJP can’t take a risk by annoying its allies while dealing with them on seatsharing arrangement in Bihar.

So, our approach is clear — handle with care,” a source in Bihar BJP said. In the meantime, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has developed a good relationship with LJP chief Paswan. Kumar has also attempted to bridge the divide between Dalits and Mahadalits and it suits Paswan’s interests in Bihar’ new political situation after Kumar’s return to the NDA.

“It is too early to talk about the number of seats as our share in the NDA. We contested seven seats in 2014. We won six. We lost one seat by a few votes. We hope NDA allies will solve this problem,” Paswan’s brother Pashupati Nath Paras, a minister in the Kumar government, told ET.

