Bihar Mahagathbandhan: Out of 40, RJD keeps 20, Congress gets 9, allies the rest

Patna: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-Congress on Friday announced their seat sharing arrangement in Bihar for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The two parties are in alliance in the state under the "Mahagathbandhan" umbrella along with some other parties.

RJD will contest on 20, Congress on 9, HAM-3, RLSP on 5, VIP on 3 and CPI-1 in Bihar under the alliance arrangement.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was not present when the two parties announced their seat sharing formula. RJD was represented by it Rajya Sabha MP and Spokesperson Manoj Jha while Congress was represented by Madan Mohan Jha.

Calling mahagathbandhan a "natural alliance", RJD national spokesman Manoj Jha said: "Lalu Yadav led-RJD will contest on 20 seats while the Congress has got nine seats to fight general elections in Bihar."

He also announced that Sharad Yadav will contest on an RJD symbol and merge his Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) with the party after the Lok Sabha polls.

When questioned about the absence of Tejashwi Yadav during this announcement, Jha reacted sharply saying: "Am I nothing in my party? You are making me insignificant? If format changes at the last moment, it is a party's decision, do not question that."

Bihar will see polling in seven phases. The dates of polling in Bihar will be on April 11, 18, 23, 29 and May 6, 12 and 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the RJD won only four seats and the Congress two. The JD-U, which contested separately, won two seats. The BJP-led NDA won 31 seats, with the former's tally being 22.