New Delhi: Given the high stakes in the JD(U)-led Mahagathbandhan-ruled Bihar, the BJP has asked its allies in the state to consult them before finalising their candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. While the BJP will be contesting the maximum number of seats in the state, it has advised the NDA alliance partners to seek the assistance of its organisational strength in assessing their candidates before declaring their names.
Though the BJP and its allies are yet to officially declare the seat-sharing formula for the 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar, speculation is rife that the LJP, both factions, is likely to contest on six seats. Former chief minister Jiten Ram Manjhi-led HAM will contest on one seat. Upendra Kushwaha's outfit, the RLJD, could contest on two seats. And alliance talks are on with the Mukesh Sahni-led VIP, which is seeking three seats from the BJP.
Sources disclosed that the BJP poll strategists are also planning to organise public rallies of senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers, in the constituencies of its allies.
According to sources, the BJP has also advised the two LJP factions -- one led by its late patriarch Ram Vilas Paswan's son Chirag Paswan and the other led by the late leader's brother and Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras -- to sort out the "legacy" issue over the Hajipur seat. The parliamentary seat is currently represented by the Union minister and is being claimed by the late leader's son.
While the caste equation seems to be stacked in favour of the ruling Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, the BJP is eyeing the EBC votebank, which was considered JD(U) leader and chief minister Nitish Kumar's support base. However, the JD(U)'s tie-up with the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led RJD has upset this numerically strong EBC votebank, as the Yadavs in the state, because of their political and social clout, are considered the "upper caste."
Recent bypolls in the state also suggested that the EBC votes did not transfer to the RJD candidates. Unlike the Assembly polls, when the BJP faced a leadership crisis, the parliamentary polls will see the BJP-led NDA take on the Mahagathbandhan in the state under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, when the JD(U) was part of the NDA, the alliance under Mr Modi's leadership had won 39 out of the total 40 seats, with the BJP winning 17, JD(U) 16 and the LJP had won six seats.
