Patna: Political turmoil continues in the grand alliance as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress remain divided over seat allocations in Bihar.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi had called Bihar leaders to discuss the issue, but sources said that parties failed to agree on the seat-sharing deal.
A number of Congress leaders on Thursday claimed that the party was not being given “respectable seats” to contest Lok Sabha elections. Trouble has been brewing within the grand alliance on at least six Lok Sabha seats including two Mithilanchal seats where both Congress and RJD have been trying to field
candidates.
Last week, RJD refused to leave the Darbhanga seat for sitting MP Kirti Azad, who had left the BJP and joined Congress recently. According to reports, the seat has been given to RJD MLA Abdul Bari Siddiqui.
Sources said top state Congress leaders have been asked to meet Tejashwi Yadav and sort out differences persisting on few seats in Bihar. As per reports, Congress has now asked the RJD to leave the Bettiah seat for Mr Azad. Congress is also trying to persuade RJD not to field a candidate from Supaul as it wants sitting MP Ranjeet Ranjan to contest the seat.
Congress has been upset after Supaul district president Yaduvansh Kumar Yadav recently said that he would put up a candidate against Ranjeet Ranjan “if she gets a ticket from the Supaul seat”.
Ms Ranjan is the wife Pappu Yadav who had won the Madhepura seat in 2014 general elections as an RJD candidate. He was, however, expelled in 2015.
Pappu Yadav on Thursday created a flutter in the RJD by filing a nomination from Madhepura seat, which has been earmarked for veteran leader Sharad Yadav.
A section in the Congress has also urged the party “to take a decisive step and boost the morale of party workers”. A senior Congress leader in Patna said, “Our party wants to save this alliance but the fact is that under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi party’s base has increased not just in Bihar but also in other states. The Congress must get respectable seat share for the Lok Sabha elections.”
