NDA’s Bihar seat-sharing agreement sealed: No more Big Brother, BJP-JDU will fight 17 seats each as Paswan’s party gets 6

New Delhi: Putting days of speculations to rest, the BJP on Sunday announced that they have reached an agreement with Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal-United (JDU) and Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) on seat-sharing in Bihar for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But what came as a surprise to many was the announcement that both the BJP and JDU will contest 17 seats each in Bihar. This is a change of status quo in the relationship between the two parties, where it emerged as the ‘Big Brother’ riding on the Modi wave. The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) got six seats to contest.

Amit Shah, Nitish Kumar, and Ram Vilas Paswan announced the final seat-sharing deal among the NDA constituents for Bihar on Sunday, flanked by Paswan’s son Chirag and senior BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav, who has been instrumental is finalising the deal.

Union minister Arun Jaitley on Friday held discussions with LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan and his son Chirag Paswan over seat-sharing arrangements in Bihar for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Sources say the BJP was initially not inclined to give more than four seats to LJP. But one of its ally Upendra Kushwaha jumping the ship to the Mahagathbandhan led by Congress, accelerated the negotiation where LJP was given six seats to fight from.

लोकसभा चुनाव के लिए एनडीए, बिहार के तीनों दलों के सीटों की साझेदारी को लेकर राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष जी द्वारा घोषणा की गई। बिहार की कुल 40 सीटों में भाजपा व जदयू 17-17 सीटों पर एवं लोजपा 6 सीटों पर चुनाव लड़ेगी। रामविलास पासवान जी को राजग से राज्यसभा भेजने पर सर्वसम्मति बनी। pic.twitter.com/ZD8jPPj43c

— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp)

The discussion came a day after LJP leaders met BJP president Shah and shared their concerns over the delay in holding talks over the seat sharing issue.
 
BJP president Shah, in presence of the Kumar and Paswan Junior announced, the discussion from here on will be ion the constituencies. Bihar has as much as 40 Lok Sabha seats that along with Uttar Pradesh, play a decisive role in who forms the government at the Centre.

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