look news india
News India Live, Digital Desk: The stir in electoral politics of Bihar is at its peak! The process of the first phase of nominations for the upcoming assembly elections (or Lok Sabha elections, if the article refers to the Lok Sabha, I am writing this as a general ‘election’) has started, but there is still a huge tussle going on over seat sharing between the two major political alliances formed in the state – the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the India Alliance. This delay has become a matter of concern for both the alliances, as the candidates are taking time to enter the field and start campaigning.
Why is there a delay in seat distribution?
Several reasons are being given for the delay in seat distribution:
- Claims of various parties: Many small and big parties are included in both the alliances, and everyone wants maximum seats. Considering the area of influence and past performance of their respective parties, every party is saying that its claim is strong.
- Role of important leaders: Leaders like Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is part of the NDA, and LJP (Ram Vilas) President Chirag Paswan are playing an important role in the mathematics of seats. Chirag Paswan is constantly demanding ‘respectable seats’, which may make his agreement with BJP a bit complicated. At the same time, it is not easy to reach a consensus between Congress, RJD and Left parties in the India alliance.
- Winning Strategy: Every party wants seats where they have the highest chances of victory, making it difficult for the alliance to satisfy everyone.
Confusion even after enrollment starts:
This situation becomes more difficult when the nomination process for the first phase has started. Without the seat distribution being finalised, it is a big challenge for the parties to field their candidates and prepare them for the campaign. This can have a direct impact on the pace of the election campaign and also on the mood of the voters.
At present, all eyes are on the top leaders of both the alliances to decide when they will solve the seat sharing issue and announce their candidates in the electoral fray. It will be interesting to see which alliance releases its list first and what new equations are created in the electoral battlefield of Bihar.
