'All is well': Ashok Gehlot as INDIA braces for 'friendly fights' in Bihar

Congress leader Ashok Gehlot was in Patna, reportedly to resolve the issue of 'friendly fight' over eight Assembly seats where both the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal have fielded their candidates

Days ahead of Bihar polls, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said "all is well" within the INDIA bloc, brushing aside reports of discord in the Opposition alliance over seat-sharing. 

Gehlot, who is the Congress' election in-charge in Bihar, was in Patna on Wednesday, reportedly to resolve the issue of "friendly fights" over eight Assembly seats where both the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have fielded their candidates. The seats in question are: Narkatiaganj, Vaishali, Rajapakar, Rosera, Bachhwara, Kahalgaon, Biharsharif, and Sikandara.

 

"All is well with the INDIA bloc. Whatever is being reported by a section of the media is not correct. A friendly contest between alliance partners on five to seven seats in the assembly polls should not be interpreted otherwise," Gehlot was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

 

 

Mahagathbandhan seat-sharing tussle

The RJD has declared candidates for 143 seats, followed by the Congress for 61 seats, nine fewer than it did five years ago. The CPI (ML) has fielded 20 candidates, the Mukesh Sahani-led Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) has announced 15, the Indian Inclusive Party has put forward three, and the CPI and CPI (M) have nominated nine and four candidates, respectively.

 

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which leads the INDIA bloc government in neighbouring Jharkhand, withdrew from fielding its candidates for the Bihar Assembly polls on Tuesday. A JMM spokesperson said his party made every possible effort to be part of the alliance but failed, leaving its leadership, including Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, upset with the RJD for refusing to accommodate its interests.

 

The Bihar Assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results set to be announced on November 14.