Ahead of Bihar assembly polls, Mahagathbandhan prioritises alliance with Left parties

Ahead of the upcoming Bihar election, the Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) led by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress is prioritising alliance with the Left parties for the upcoming Assembly elections in Bihar. The assembly elections this year is significant for the RJD as it will contest the polls after it drew blank in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

Speaking to ANI, a senior leader said that the party wants the Left parties to fight alongside them as it would greatly boost their chances of winning in several seats.

"For an alliance with the Left parties, we are ready to give a good number of seats to them. In the last two Assembly elections, and in the 2019 Lok Sabha election in Bihar, whatever votes went to the Left parties benefitted the NDA. So an alliance with the Left parties will be beneficial for us," the leader told ANI here.

The upcoming polls are also crucial for RJD since this is the first assembly elections in Bihar which will not witness the quintessential Lalu style of campaigning and his crowd-puller jibes. RJD also suffered a massive blow as HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi left the Mahagathbandhan and rejoined NDA, while Lalu's long time friend and samdhi (Tej Pratap's father-in-law) Chandrika Rai along with 5 others quit the party. The sources also confirmed that the seat-sharing formula of the Mahagathbandhan would be announced soon as the plans are awaiting the final consent of RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav.

READ: Bihar polls: Nitish Kumar kicks off campaign with 'Nischay Samwaad' rally on September 7

Tej Pratap Yadav kicks off election campaign with a massive rally 

Meanwhile, kickstarting his poll campaign, RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav held a massive rally in Bihar's Hasanpur Vishan Sabha constituency, completely flouting the guidelines of social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Sources have said that Tej Pratap is likely to contest from Hasanpur constituency amid speculations that his estranged wife Aishwarya Rai would contest from his current Mahua seat. In the video, Tej Pratap's followers can be seen behind his car, capturing his video and following his cavalcade while the RJD leader waved at them.

READ: Bihar CM says state has enough arrangements for COVID; flags off Bihar polls campaign

Bihar Assembly polls

The Bihar Assembly election is expected to take place in October-November 2020. In the 2015 state polls, the Mahagatbandhan comprising RJD, JD(U) and Congress won a whopping majority with 178 seats in the 243-member Assembly under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. On the other hand, the BJP-led alliance won from only 58 constituencies. 

However, a power tussle in the ruling alliance kicked off with Tejashwi Yadav's elevation as the Deputy Chief Minister and RJD's role as the single-largest party in the Bihar Assembly. On July 26, 2017, Nitish Kumar stepped down as the CM citing irreconcilable differences with RJD over corruption allegations against Tejashwi Yadav. After BJP extended support to its former ally, Kumar again took oath as the CM. The BJP top brass has consistently maintained that the JD(U) president will be the alliance's CM face in the upcoming Assembly polls. 

READ: Bihar polls: Tej Pratap Yadav kicks off election campaign with massive rally in Hasanpur

READ: Bihar polls: BJP parliamentary board to take decision on seat-sharing, says Sanjay Jaiswal