Patna: The deadlock over seat-sharing continues within the INDIA alliance, even as time ticks away and the deadline for filing nominations looms over the grand coalition.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge held a telephonic conversation with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday in a bid to resolve the impasse, according to reports. The parties are aiming to seal the deal ahead of the high-stakes political battle.
The last date for filing nominations for Phase 1 is 17 October, with polling scheduled for 6 November.
Yadav reportedly told Kharge and Gandhi that other allies also need to be accommodated within the alliance, which he described as a greater priority.
Initially, the RJD had offered the Congress 52 seats out of 243, which the grand old party rejected, insisting on at least 60 constituencies. The Congress had contested on 70 seats in the 2020 polls.
Talks between state-level Congress leaders and the RJD were reportedly suspended, shifting the focus to talks between the top brass of both parties.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday night, the Congress released its first list of candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections. The move comes as RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav filed his nomination from the Raghopur assembly seat earlier the same day.
The ruling NDA locked on the seat sharing on Sunday. The BJP and JD(U) will contest 101 seats each, while the Lok Janshakti Party (headed by Ram Vilas) will contest 29 seats. The Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) will contest six seats each.
