Seat sharing took place in Bihar NDA, in which BJP and JDU got 101-101 seats. Pappu Yadav called it a conspiracy by BJP to weaken Nitish Kumar. According to him, BJP will actually fight on 142 seats with its allies, which will reduce the influence of JDU.
The politics of Bihar has once again become heated. Just hours after the formal announcement of seat sharing within the NDA, independent MP from Purnia Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav created a stir in the entire political corridor by making a big and sharp statement.
He said, “Sanjay Jha has completed his mission today. The conspiracy to force Nitish Kumar ji to step down as CM is complete. BJP gave 101 seats and its H team i.e. Modi’s Hanuman 29 seats. The remaining two hangers-on teams were given 12 seats. This means that the clear team BJP will fight on 142 seats and JDU will fight only on 101! The campaign to finish Nitish ji is complete.”
NDA’s new formula
The seat sharing formula in NDA for 243 seats of Bihar Assembly has been decided in this way.
- BJP: 101 seats
- JDU: 101 seats
- LJP (Ram Vilas): 29 seats
- RLM (Upendra Kushwaha): 06 seats
- HAM (Jitan Ram Manjhi): 06 seats
On the face of it, this distribution appears to be completely “equal”, but Pappu Yadav claims that this is a fraud in the name of equality. According to him, BJP has laid the foundation of politically ‘sidelining’ Nitish Kumar not only through the strategy of seats but also by deciding the role of its allies.
Pappu Yadav’s allegation – BJP team becomes army of 142 seats
According to Pappu Yadav, BJP has created such an alliance around itself in which all the small allies will work as ‘B-team’ or ‘H team’. Describing Chirag Paswan’s party as ‘Modi’s Hanuman’, he said, “By giving 29 seats to LJP (Ram Vilas), BJP has given a clear signal that JDU has no longer been made ‘big brother’ but ‘limited ally’. He claimed that the plan to weaken Nitish Kumar in NDA was already ready and now this seat sharing has formalized that plan.
Talk of amicable agreement in NDA
While Pappu Yadav called it a conspiracy, JDU national working president Sanjay Jha tweeted calling it a “historic agreement reached in a cordial atmosphere”. He wrote, “We NDA colleagues have together completed the distribution of seats in an amicable manner. All colleagues are united and are determined to make Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister again with an overwhelming majority.” BJP’s Bihar in-charge Vinod Tawde also reiterated the same point, saying, “NDA is organized and dedicated. NDA government is going to be formed again in Bihar.”
Nitish’s decreasing influence or BJP’s increasing influence?
Political analysts believe that the 2025 seat sharing is a symbolic turn. While JDU was leading the alliance in 2005 and 2010, now BJP is in an equal position and controlling the direction of the alliance. Nitish Kumar, who was once the “main face” of the NDA, is now reduced to a “partner” with equal number of seats to the BJP. This is the same change towards which there were indications for several months, when the national leadership of BJP had made it clear that the Bihar elections would be fought in the name of Prime Minister Modi.
Opposition’s taunt ‘Nitish ji is now the Chief Minister in name’
Opposition parties have called this division a ploy by the BJP. Congress legislature party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan said, “NDA’s seat sharing has happened, but the real thing is that Nitish Kumar is now the Chief Minister in name. The BJP has taken real control of power in Bihar.”