Less than respectable share of seats would affect entire Mahagathbandhan in Bihar: Cong

The Congress on Saturday claimed that a less than ''respectable'' share of seats in Bihar would affect not just the party, but the entire ruling 'Mahagathbandhan', including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U).

State Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh made the statement when he was asked about speculations in a section of the media that the party has been asked to settle for not more than four out of 40 Lok Sabha seats.

''The Mahagathbandhan as a whole, including the JD(U), will suffer if the Congress fights only four seats, though it is not our case that we be given nine just because we had contested that many in 2019," said Singh.

Reports have surfaced in a section of media that JD(U) wants 17 seats for itself, as many as it had contested five years ago, winning all but one. A key aide of Kumar has made it clear that for the JD(U), a number less than 16, its current strength in Lok Sabha, was out of question.

''We have 16 seats. On these, the question of a claim or any confusion should not arise," JD(U) national general secretary Sanjay Kumar Jha said.

Jha also said ''whatever may be the demand of the Congress, it should convey the same to the RJD. We will be sitting across the table with the RJD for final discussions on seat sharing".

The JD(U) leader's averment was in the backdrop of a general understanding reached within the Mahagathbandhan that since the chief minister's party was a new entrant, having joined the coalition after dumping the BJP less than two years ago, the RJD, the largest constituent, be allowed to negotiate on behalf of smaller partners.

A statement to this effect was made some time ago by CPI (ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, who had said the number of seats his party desired has been shared with RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, who would negotiate on behalf of other junior partners with the JD(U).

No RJD leader has, so far, hinted the number of seats the party wanted to contest and Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav, the deputy CM, denied having taken up the issue with Kumar.

"He is the CM and I am the deputy. There can be any number of issues for us to discuss. Do not worry too much about seat-sharing. We will let you know in due course," said Yadav, when journalists approached him with queries.