Congress wants to use Rahul Gandhi's (left) rally in Patna on February 3 as a show of strength to get a bigger slice of the cake. (Photo: Reuters)

The seat sharing talks within the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar has hit a road block with the largest alliance partner Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) not willing to give more than 8 seats to the Congress which is sticking to its demand for 12 seats which it contested in 2014.

The rift over the seat sharing formula, the announcement of which was expected post Makar Sankranti has been postponed till the Congress's "Jan Akanksha" rally in Gandhi Maidan in Patna on February 3 which will be addressed by Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Though the other alliance partners - RJD, HAM and RLSP - are in favour of an early announcement of the seat sharing formula but the Congress has deferred the decision till February 3 and wants to use Rahul Gandhi's rally as a show of strength to get a bigger slice of the cake.

Buoyed by its electoral wins in three assembly elections held recently, Congress is not in the mood to settle for less.

According to sources, RJD is keen on contesting 20 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats, leaving the remaining for the other alliance partners.

RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha, who recently switched from NDA to the mahagathbandhan, is demanding five seats while HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi and Sharad Yadav's Loktantrik Janta Dal are demanding three seats each.

There are other alliance partners like Mukesh Sahni's Vikassheel Insaan party and the Left parties who also need to be accommodated because of which RJD is finding it tough to give 12 seats to the Congress and ready to offer eight.

It may be mentioned that the Congress in 2014 had won just two of the 12 Lok Sabha seats it contested.

RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav has already sent out a strong message to the Congress that everyone needs to make compromises to achieve the common objective of defeating the BJP.