- By Shubham Bajpai
- Mon, 15 Sep 2025 07:40 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Bihar Assembly Elections: With just months to the Bihar Assembly elections, Congress and Rashtrirya Janata Dal (RJD) are holding intense campaigns across the state.
However, beneath the unified struggle against CM Nitish Kumar-led NDA while reaching out to the voters, the two key parties of the Mahagathbandhan are weighing each other to stoke claims during seat sharing and other key decisions that would determine their roles if they win the elections.
This internal discord has now started surfacing in public with each passing day. The discord is more visible at the ground level.
Discord at ground level
On Saturday, Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram convened a workers' meeting of Mahagathbandhan partners in the Kutumba assembly constituency in Aurangabad district. To their surprise, RJD's block and district presidents, and former MLA Suresh Paswan, boycotted the meeting without an explanation, according to a report by Hindustan Times.
In fact, the RJD held its own meeting on Monday under Paswan's leadership. A confrontational episode was also witnessed in Dehri Assembly constituency in Rohtas district, where the RJD MLA Fateh Bahadur Singh accused Congress workers of taking money in the name of filing forms for Mai Bahin Yojna.
The allegations came after Congress opened a counter at Gandhi Smarak while the RJD opened its counter at a hotel in the same constituency. The crowd was thronging at the Congress counter in higher numbers in comparison to that of the RJD, which holds the seat.
Congress against CM face projection
The growing discord is supposedly rooted in Congress's assertive approach to seat sharing and objection to the projection of CM's face at a time when Tejaswhi Yadav has been increasingly presenting himself as an alternative of CM Nitish Kumar.
Last week, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of Bihar, Krishna Allavaru, sparked a fresh row, saying that the CM would be decided by the people of Bihar.
The statement shows disagreement within the alliance because on August 30, Tejashwi called Nitish Kumar a duplicate CM who is copying his policies in Ara. In the presence of Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi asked people 'Original CM chahiye ya duplicate? (Do you want original CM or duplicate?).
He had said, "Tejashwiaage-aage, Sarkar pichhe-pichhe. Original CM chahiye ki duplicate?" (Tejashwi is moving ahead while the govt is following him from behind. Do you want a duplicate CM or the original CM?).
RJD-Congress pushing for more seats
Apart from CM face projection, another burning issue between the two allies is seat sharing. In 2020, Congress contested 70 seats but won only 19. This time the alliance has swelled with the entry of two parties: VIP and JMM.
The Congress is reportedly interested in contesting at least the same number of seats as it believes itself to be in good shape after the Voter Adhikar Yatra and vote chori campaign.
On September 9, while responding to a question about Congress contesting 70 seats at a media conclave, Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar said, "Why are you restricting us to 70 seats? We are contesting all 243 seats." He clarified later, "We (alliance) will contest 243 seats."
Moreover, it is also mulling to seek the deputy CM post if compelled to settle with less number of seats. The demand for deputy CM has also been raised by the VIP of Mukesh Sahani.
While the top brass has refuted the reports of a rift within the grand alliance, the statements from both sides are apparently guided to consolidate their bases and force concessions from the others.