Bihar Elections 2020: Owaisi joins forces with BSP & RLSP; makes Upendra Kushwaha CM face

Combining forces with another Bihar-based alliance, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday, announced that his party will be teaming up with Upendra Kushwaha-led RLSP, Mayawati's BSP, Devendra Yadav's SJDD, and SBSP as the 'Grand Democratic Secular Front' to contest in the upcoming Bihar polls. Fielding Kushwaha as the alliance's chief ministerial face, Owaisi said that 15 years of BJP-Nitish & RJD-Congress did not benefit anyone. Bihar is set to go to polls in October-November in three phases.

Bihar polls: BJP & JD(U) seat allocation announced; Read full list of constituencies here

Third front in Bihar 

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Other alliances

On 28 September, the alliance named 'Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA)', headed by  Pappu Yadav's Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) was announced, including Chandrashekhar Azad's Azad Samaj Party, MK Faizi's Social Democratic Party and Bahujan Mukti Party. Talking at the event, Yadav said that Upendra Kushwaha's RLSP, the LJP, and Congress were invited to join the alliance. Accusing CM Nitish Kumar of failing to control the spread of the pandemic, he said that Nitish was 'drunk with power'. These two alliances now face NDA and the Mahagathbandhan.

Bihar polls: Pappu Yadav teams with Chandra Shekhar Azad to take on NDA and Gathbandhan

Seat sharing formula

The NDA- led by BJP poll-in-charge Devendra Fadnavis has faced a revolt from LJP, which has decided to contest separately claiming ideological differences with JD(U). Snubbing them, BJP has reaffirmed Nitish Kumar as its CM candidate and has released its seat-share with JD(U) with BJP keeping 121 seats for itself out of which 11 seats will be given to Mukesh Sahni-led Vikassheel Insaan Party. On the other hand, JD(U) will field its candidates in only 115 constituencies whereas Hindustani Awam Morcha has been given the go-ahead in 7 seats- Kasba, Makhdumpur, Kutumba, Imamganj, Barachatti, Tikari and Sikandra. LJP has stated that it will not field its candidates against BJP and is open for a post-poll coalition.

Similarly, Mahagathbandhan which saw initial revolt from Congress finally agreed to a 144-70 seat-share formula with Congress,  and three other Communist parties contesting on 29 seats, announcing Tejashwi Yadav as its CM face. BJP, JDU, Congress, RJD, JMM have already released their list of candidates. Bihar will vote in 3 phases - October 28, November 3, and November 7, with the results being declared on November 10.

Bihar elections 2020: Mahagathbandhan chooses Tejashwi as its leader, seat-sharing out