Grand Alliance in disarray as allies clash over seats in Bihar

Even after the first round of nominations is over, the Grand Alliance in Bihar has failed to reach a consensus on seat sharing

- Associated Press

Even after the first round of nominations is over, the Grand Alliance in Bihar has failed to reach a consensus on seat sharing. As a result, eight candidates from the alliance are now locked in direct contests against each other, exposing deep fissures within the opposition bloc.

The nomination process for the first phase of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections concluded on Friday, but the Grand Alliance - comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, CPI, CPI-ML, CPIM, and VIP - has yet to formally announce its seat-sharing arrangement.

Despite the nomination deadline passing, there is still no clarity on how many seats each constituent party will contest.

Internal disagreements have marred the alliance's coordination. So far, the Congress has released a list of 48 candidates, while the CPI(ML) has announced 18 candidates.

However, the lack of coordination has led to a situation where the allies are competing against one another in the very first phase of the election. In at least eight constituencies, Grand Alliance partners have fielded rival candidates.