LS polls: Bihar seat-sharing finalised, BJP to contest 17, JD (U) 16 seats

Lok Sabha polls will commence on April 19 in seven phases. Bihar is one of the three states that will hold elections in all seven phases

Lok Sabha elections: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced that it had finalised a seat-sharing deal with its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners in Bihar, where it is set to contest on 17 seats. Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) will contest on 16 seats, while Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) will lead the battle on five seats.

Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Samta Party will contest one each seat, BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde said in a press conference.

Notably, Kumar-led JD(U) entered into alliance with the BJP after snapping ties with the Lalu Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal. On January 27, Kumar announced an end to his 17-month long coalition government with the RJD and the Congress and returned to the NDA fold. He had quit the NDA government in 2022 to form the grand alliance coalition.

The turn of events have reset the poll dynamics like the last Lok Sabha elections, when the JD(U) had entered the poll fray with the BJP and the LJP as part of the NDA. In 2019, the NDA had lost just one seat in Bihar - Kishanganj - bagged by the Congress.

Lok Sabha poll schedule

The seat-sharing deal was announced by the NDA partners two days after the Election Commission outlined the Lok Sabha poll schedule, set to commence on April 19 over seven phases.

The polling will take place across 28 states and eight Union territories till June 1, while the counting of votes will be done on June 4. Bihar is one of the three states where polling will take place in all seven phases. The other two are Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

In phase one, four of the 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar will go to polls. These include Auranagabad, Gaya, Nawada and Jamui. At present, all four seats are ruled by NDA allies: the BJP represents Aurangabad, LJP in Nawada and Jamui, and JD(U)—Gaya.

Other than Bihar, 20 states and UTs will go to polls on April 19. A total of 102 parliamentary seats will be up for election in phase one, concealing the fate of a bulk of constituencies.

In the second phase, voting will happen on 89 seats, phase three: 94 seats, phase four: 96 seats, phase five: 49 seats, phase six: 57, phase seven: 57.