NDA'S SEAT PLAN FOR BIHAR OUT

101 seats each for JD(U) and BJP, Chirag corners 29, Manjhi sulks

- Dheeraj Kumar

The ruling NDA on Sunday announced its seat-sharing deal, with BJP and JD(U) getting 101 seats each, while Union minister Chirag Paswan's LJP(RV) will contest 29 in the elections to the 243-member assembly.

In a post on X as the meeting of BJP's Central Election Committee, which also includes PM Narendra Modi, started, Union minister and the party's Bihar poll in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan said Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi-led HAM(S) and Upendra Kushwaha-led RLM will field their candidates on six seats each.

Manjhi accepted the decision of the "high command", but asserted that NDA may face repurcussions for "undervaluing" his party.

The deal followed extensive deliberations in New Delhi and Patna involving senior NDA leaders as well as interactions with LJP, RLM, and HAM leadership. Paswan, who had initially demanded 40 seats, agreed to the reduced share of 29.