New Delhi: After several meetings and a lot of to and fro between Patna and Delhi by BJP Bihar election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan and party general secretary Vinod Tawde, the NDA has been able to seal the seat-sharing deal with its allies.
Both the BJP leaders had met LJP (RV) leader Chirag Paswan a couple of times over seat sharing and then Union minister Nityanand Rai was also involved to close the pact with Paswan.
Rai met Paswan in Delhi on Thursday night while negotiations were still going on. On Friday morning, after Rai met Paswan at his residence, both looked satisfied while Chirag indicated that all was well within the NDA.
"The discussion has moved very fast and is now in the final stage. The top BJP leadership knows our leader Chirag Paswan's commitment for the state. We have been with the NDA since 2014 and PM Modi has always taken care of our party's respect and honour," Dhirendra Kumar Munna, LJP (RV), national media incharge, told ET. Though LJP leaders didn't disclose the number of seats, sources in BJP told ET that LJP has been offered 26 seats and the deal is done.
After the deal with LJP was finalised, Pradhan and Tawde moved quickly to meet other allies like Jitan Ram Manjhi of HAM (S) and Upendra Kushwaha of RLP. BJP sources told ET that the seat sharing was amicably resolved among the allies. Manjhi is likely to get eight seats while Kushwaha would get seven seats. The BJP and JDU have already worked out the number of seats they are going to contest. As per sources, the numbers are somewhere around 100 each for the JDU and the BJP.
The announcement of the seat sharing is likely to be done in Patna by the state leaders of NDA allies on Saturday. State BJP leaders have been called to Delhi on Saturday, where a core group meeting of BJP leaders will take place regarding the candidate selection. On Sunday, BJP will hold a Central Election Committee meeting to finalise the candidates for the first phase of elections. Sources told ET the NDA members are planning to release their first list of candidates on Monday.
Both the BJP leaders had met LJP (RV) leader Chirag Paswan a couple of times over seat sharing and then Union minister Nityanand Rai was also involved to close the pact with Paswan.
Rai met Paswan in Delhi on Thursday night while negotiations were still going on. On Friday morning, after Rai met Paswan at his residence, both looked satisfied while Chirag indicated that all was well within the NDA.
"The discussion has moved very fast and is now in the final stage. The top BJP leadership knows our leader Chirag Paswan's commitment for the state. We have been with the NDA since 2014 and PM Modi has always taken care of our party's respect and honour," Dhirendra Kumar Munna, LJP (RV), national media incharge, told ET. Though LJP leaders didn't disclose the number of seats, sources in BJP told ET that LJP has been offered 26 seats and the deal is done.
After the deal with LJP was finalised, Pradhan and Tawde moved quickly to meet other allies like Jitan Ram Manjhi of HAM (S) and Upendra Kushwaha of RLP. BJP sources told ET that the seat sharing was amicably resolved among the allies. Manjhi is likely to get eight seats while Kushwaha would get seven seats. The BJP and JDU have already worked out the number of seats they are going to contest. As per sources, the numbers are somewhere around 100 each for the JDU and the BJP.
The announcement of the seat sharing is likely to be done in Patna by the state leaders of NDA allies on Saturday. State BJP leaders have been called to Delhi on Saturday, where a core group meeting of BJP leaders will take place regarding the candidate selection. On Sunday, BJP will hold a Central Election Committee meeting to finalise the candidates for the first phase of elections. Sources told ET the NDA members are planning to release their first list of candidates on Monday.
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