The NDA’s seat-sharing agreement in poll-bound Bihar has hit a last-minute snag, with both the BJP and JD(U) reaching a roadblock. A joint press conference scheduled for 4 pm on Monday to announce the agreement has been cancelled.

India Today TV has learnt that no consensus was reached even after Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and state BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal arrived at JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha’s residence to iron out last-minute differences ahead of the scheduled presser.

Soon after the joint seat-sharing announcement was called off, senior BJP leaders Dharmendra Pradhan and Nityanand Rai, along with Bihar Transport Minister Nitin Nabin, flocked with Choudhary to Jha’s residence and left around 9:30 pm.

According to sources, JDU has already started pledging tickets to its candidates despite no formal seat-sharing deal with the BJP.

Even though both sides have agreed to contest 101 seats each in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, no consensus has yet been reached on which party will field candidates from which constituencies.

Amid the uncertainty, India Today TV has learnt that during a meeting held at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s residence, JD(U) leaders were assured of ticket allocations for a few of their candidates in the first phase of elections, where 121 seats go to polls on November 6.

On Sunday, the NDA announced its seat-sharing formula for next month’s Assembly polls, with the BJP and Janata Dal (United) to contest 101 seats each in the 243-member Assembly, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Sunday. As part of the deal, Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will fight on 29 seats while the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) will contest six seats each.

HAM has been allotted six seats under the seat-sharing arrangement – Tekari, Kutumba, Atari, Imamganj, Sikandra and Barachatti, with an official announcement expected on Monday.

Meanwhile, sources said Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM will contest Ujiarpur, Madhubani, Sasaram, Dinara, Mahua, and Bajpatti.

Pradhan, the Bihar election in-charge who played a role in delivering a third consecutive win for the BJP in Haryana last year, said the NDA allies in Bihar welcomed the seat allocation and that talks were held in a cordial atmosphere.

This is the first time that the JD(U) is not contesting more seats than the BJP in an assembly election in a clear indication of the realignment of strength within the ruling alliance.

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