Bihar Assembly Elections 2025: INDI Alliance Grapples with Seat-Sharing Disputes and Internal Discord, Now in Damage-Control Mode

Patna (Bihar): The Bihar Assembly Elections 2025 have exposed growing rifts within the opposition Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance), as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress struggle to contain internal dissent following disagreements over seat-sharing and the exit of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) from the alliance.

In several constituencies, candidates from both RJD and Congress have found themselves contesting against each other, raising questions over the unity of the opposition front. Both parties are now engaged in efforts to minimize the electoral damage caused by these internal clashes.

After the completion of the nomination process for the second phase on Monday, the Election Commission announced that 1,314 candidates remain in the fray for 121 out of the 243 assembly seats. Polling for these seats will be held on November 6. The commission confirmed that 61 nominations were withdrawn and over 300 were rejected.

Political analysts believe that unless RJD and Congress resolve their internal differences, the disunity could directly impact the alliance’s performance — a situation that the ruling NDA is reportedly strategizing to exploit.

RJD Fields 143 Candidates, Avoids Direct Clash with Congress

Leading the opposition alliance, RJD — which emerged as the single largest party in the past two assembly elections — released its list of 143 candidates only after most nominations were filed and election symbols allotted.

In a bid to avoid a direct confrontation with the Congress, the RJD refrained from fielding a candidate against Bihar Congress president Rajesh Kumar Ram in the reserved Kutumba constituency. However, RJD candidates will face Congress contenders in Lalganj, Vaishali, and Kahalgaon.

RJD Extends Support to VIP Candidates

In Tarapur — where the NDA has fielded BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary — the RJD was initially expected to face Mukesh Sahani’s Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP). However, the situation changed dramatically when the VIP withdrew its support from its candidate Sakaldev Bind, who subsequently joined the BJP in Choudhary’s presence after withdrawing his nomination.

In Gaura Bauram, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav wrote to the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar, stating that his party would support Sahani’s brother Santosh, and that any candidate contesting under the RJD’s lantern symbol should not be considered legitimate. However, this letter had little effect, as Afzal Ali, who had filed his nomination under the RJD symbol, refused to withdraw, causing confusion among party workers in the Darbhanga constituency.

Constituencies Witnessing Mahagathbandhan Infighting

In Bachhwara, Rajapakar, and Rosera, infighting has surfaced, where both the Congress and CPI have fielded candidates. Rajapakar, currently held by the Congress, will see sitting MLA Pratima Kumari Das defending her seat.

The Congress is contesting 61 seats, five fewer than in 2020 when it contested 66 but won only 19 seats — a poor performance that many attribute to the alliance’s inability to secure a majority.

RJD, meanwhile, faces rebellion in Parihar, where its women’s wing chief Ritu Jaiswal has filed her nomination as an independent candidate, reportedly upset over the party giving a ticket to the daughter-in-law of former state president Ramchandra Purve — whom she blames for her narrow defeat in the previous election.

Seat Distribution Among Other Alliance Partners

The Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), which has no sitting MLAs but had initially demanded 40–50 seats and even sought the Deputy Chief Minister’s post for Mukesh Sahani if Tejashwi Yadav formed the government, has settled for 16 constituencies after a compromise.

The CPI(ML) Liberation, which recorded the highest strike rate within the Mahagathbandhan in 2020 — winning 12 out of 19 seats contested — is fielding candidates in 20 constituencies this time.

The CPI, which has two MLAs, is contesting nine seats, while the CPI(M), also with two MLAs, will contest four seats, according to party leaders Indu Bhushan Verma and Manoj Chandravanshi, respectively.