Bihar polls: Infighting within Mahagathbandhan? Bihar BJP chief claims ‘tug of war’ between…

Bihar Assembly Election: In another claim of alleged discord within the opposition camp, Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal Thursday claimed that a ‘tug of war’ is happening between the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress due to internal conflict within the Mahagathbandhan, which will continue to weaken opposition ranks, and pull more voters towards the incumbent NDA.

BJP claims internal rift within Mahagathbandhan

“There is infighting going on in the Mahagathbandhan. The tug-of-war happening between RJD and Congress in the Mahagathbandhan proves that this will be their nature in the future as well, so the voters have made up their minds for NDA,” Jaiswal claimed, according to news agency ANI.

Jaiswal, who had earlier claimed that ‘half a dozen’ incumbent MLA from the RJD-Congress combine will join the BJP ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly Election, also accused the opposition camp of “insulting” Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) founder Mukesh Sahani.

“Injustice is being done to Mukesh Sahani. He had respect in the NDA. If Congress and RJD insult Mukesh Sahani in this way, it will also hurt them. The message has spread in these communities that UPA and Mahagathbandhan are working to humiliate Mukesh Sahani,” the BJP state president claimed.

Jaiswal claimed that the delay in announcing seat-sharing arrangement is a clear sign of an internal rift within the Mahagathbandhan, while the NDA remains united and has already released its list for the upcoming polls.

“The list of candidates for 101 seats has been released. The NDA is the first alliance to release its seat-sharing numbers and the list of candidates… There are conflicts going on in the Mahagathbandhan, and no decision has been made until now,” he said, asserting that the people have faith in the NDA because they “that if RJD-Congress forms the government, what will be the condition?”.

RJD, Congress MLAs to join BJP?

Last week, Jaiswal had claimed that around ‘half a dozen’ incumbent MLA from Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress will join the saffron party ahead of the Bihar Assembly Election, which is slated to be conducted on November 6 and 11th next month.

Addressing a press conference on Friday (October 16) to welcome back former Muzaffarpur MP Ajay Nishad into the saffron fold, Jaiswal claimed the ruling BJP was set to receive a major boost ahead of the Bihar Assembly Election as “half a dozen MLAs of the RJD-Congress combine” will jump ship “in the next few days.”

“In the next few days, about half a dozen MLAs of the Congress and RJD will be joining the party, in a clear indication of the growing trust in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar,” the Bihar BJP chief claimed, according to news agency PTI.

However, Jaiswal did not divulge any details about who was expected to jump ship to the BJP.

Bihar Assembly Election 2025

Polls for the 243-seat Bihar Assembly are scheduled to take place on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes to follow on November 14.

Notably, the opposition INDIA bloc, know as Congress-RJD led Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, has yet announce its seat-sharing formula for the upcoming polls.

(With inputs from agencies)

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