Congress, RJD Discuss Seat Sharing; Friendly Fights May Be Limited, Joint Campaign Still Unclear

As the Bihar Assembly elections approach, the Mahagathbandhan has announced RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate if the alliance forms the government.

In the first phase of polling, scheduled for November 6, 2025, the Mahagathbandhan may see friendly contests on at least three seats. Thursday marks the final deadline for withdrawal of nominations.

Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot met RJD leaders Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav at the RJD chief’s residence on Wednesday. The Congress emphasized a fair distribution of seats, focusing on “quality” if not quantity. Earlier deadlocks had led to multiple constituencies where Mahagathbandhan parties fielded candidates against each other, including Congress vs. RJD in at least six seats, CPI vs. Congress in four, and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) vs. RJD in two.

Speaking to reporters in Patna after the meeting, Gehlot said: “We had a good discussion. There will be a press conference tomorrow. All confusion will be cleared. The Mahagathbandhan is contesting together. Out of 243 seats in Bihar, friendly fights may occur in 5–10 seats.”

He described the meeting with Lalu and Tejashwi, with Rabri Devi also present, as “very positive,” and added that the INDIA bloc in Bihar is “fully united and contesting the elections with strength.”
Gehlot accused the BJP of attempting to sow confusion over the alliance. “It ran a sponsored campaign to spoil the atmosphere, creating an impression as if there were rifts within the Mahagathbandhan itself,” he said.

He further added: “In 243 seats, due to local leaders and equations, a situation like a friendly fight sometimes arises… It is a very small number. But the media ran a campaign exaggerating it. In reality, there is no problem at all… Bihar wants change, and the people understand that the victory of the INDIA bloc is in the interest of the country and the state.”

Friendly Fights

The five seats where the RJD and Congress may both field candidates are:

• Vaishali: RJD’s Ajay Kushwaha vs. Congress’s Sanjeev Singh
• Kahalgaon: Congress’s Praveen Singh Kushwaha vs. RJD’s Rajnish Bharti
• Narkatiaganj: Congress’s Shashwat Kedar Pandey vs. RJD’s Deepak Yadav
• Sultanganj: RJD’s Chandan Sinha vs. Congress’s Lalan Yadav
• Sikandra (SC): Congress’s Vinod Chaudhary vs. RJD’s Uday Narayan Chaudhary