A high-stakes meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar was held in Delhi to finalise seat-sharing arrangements ahead of the state’s assembly elections, amid reports of bickering among the ruling coalition partners.

Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal said the party’s central leadership will make key announcements regarding seat allocation and ticket distribution on Sunday, following the meeting.

Two key NDA partners, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), are reportedly unhappy and have sought a larger share of seats, though both leaders have publicly denied any rift.

Dismissing talk of discontent, Jaiswal said, “Everything is fine within the NDA. The seat-sharing formula and candidate list will soon be decided by the party’s central leadership, which will make important announcements at 11 am on Sunday.”

Manjhi has been seeking at least 15 seats, while Paswan, who had earlier agreed to contest around 20-22 seats, is now demanding 25 or more. Some within his party have even claimed up to 40 seats.

Within the alliance, the bigger partners, JD(U) and BJP, are likely to contest 102 and 101 seats respectively in the 243-member assembly, sources said.

Manjhi indicated that his party would prefer to stay out of the polls if it is not allotted a “respectable number” of seats, clarifying that he was “requesting, not demanding.” Paswan too sought to downplay reports of differences, saying, “There are no disputes within the NDA over seat sharing, and I am not upset with anyone”.

Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha echoed similar views, saying that seat-sharing talks are still underway.

With polling scheduled for November 6 and 11, the NDA leadership is racing to wrap up discussions and ensure a smooth finalisation of seat allocations.

Sources said an agreement has reportedly been reached to allot the Govindganj seat to Paswan’s party, though the BJP has refused to give up the Brahmapur seat. Kushwaha, who is seeking to contest from two constituencies including Sheikhpura, which is currently held by JD(U), is yet to reach an understanding with the alliance partners.

Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, along with Vinod Tawde and others, has been actively engaging with alliance partners to finalise the deal.

The Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, with counting of votes scheduled for November 14.

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