Bihar polls: RJD-Cong stalemate over seats, CM face; setback in Jharkhand - is this end of road for INDIA bloc?

NEW DELHI: It has come full circle for the Opposition’s INDIA bloc. The first major meeting of Opposition parties was held in Patna, Bihar, on 23 June 2023, chaired by Nitish Kumar: then seen as the architect of Opposition unity.

A little over two years later, the same Nitish has rejoined the NDA, and Bihar — once the stage for a united front against the BJP, is now where the bloc seems to be falling apart. With no seat-sharing deal in place and growing friction among partners, the alliance that began its journey in Patna appears to be running out of road in Bihar itself.

Also read: INDIA bloc may go to Bihar polls without CM face amid claims seat-sharing conflict to end soon

Although the bloc put up a formidable performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, winning 234 seats, it has since faced major setbacks in Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi.

After strained ties with the Trinamool Congress over who should lead the Opposition alliance , and a rift with AAP during the Delhi polls, the Congress now finds itself locked in a tussle with the RJD: Over seat allocation and the question of who should be the CM face .

And as if the uncertainty in Bihar weren’t enough, a fresh jolt has come from neighbouring Jharkhand, where the JMM has signalled a rethink about the alliance. The question now looms large — is this the end of the road for the INDIA bloc?
RJD-Congress stalemate in Bihar

The Mahagathbandhan has failed to finalise a seat-sharing formula even as nominations for the first phase of polling closed on Friday, leaving alliance partners contesting against each other in several constituencies. In places such as Vaishali, Lalganj, Kahalgaon, and Biharsharif, the RJD and Congress are directly pitted against one another, while CPI is facing off against Congress in Bachhwara and Rosera.

RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari told ANI that such disagreements are common in coalitions and will eventually be resolved, but made clear that RJD’s influence was limited to Bihar. “It must be understood that RJD contests elections only in Bihar and a few seats in Jharkhand. We are not going to demand seats in Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh from Congress. They must understand the ground realities,” he said.

Also read: Congress not in favour of Tejashwi Yadav? Big remark by party ahead of Bihar polls

At the heart of the deadlock lies the RJD’s insistence on projecting Tejashwi Yadav as the alliance’s chief ministerial face — a proposal Congress has so far avoided endorsing. While individual Congress leaders in Bihar privately admit Yadav is the “obvious choice”, the party’s central leadership has remained non-committal. CPI(ML), another key partner, too, has described the issue as “strategic”, suggesting that open endorsement could alienate sections of voters still wary of the Lalu-era “jungle raj”.

With the RJD hinting at fielding its own candidates in Congress-held constituencies like Kutumba, the optics of unity have taken a serious hit. Congress, meanwhile, has tried to downplay tensions. “Everything has been finalised, only the announcement has to be made, which will be made at the right time,” Congress leader Pawan Khera told reporters on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to launch the NDA campaign from Samastipur on October 24, with BJP leaders declaring that “there is no such thing as Mahagathbandhan in Bihar”. Union Minister Giriraj Singh mocked the alliance, saying, “They neither have neta nor netritva (leader or leadership).”

JMM breaks away

Adding to the INDIA bloc’s woes, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Saturday announced it would contest the Bihar elections independently and re-evaluate its alliance with Congress and RJD in Jharkhand after the polls.

“There are contradictions within the NDA as well as within the Mahagathbandhan. We will review the alliance in the state. Because every time there is betrayal,” JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said. He added that the party would contest six seats — Dhamdaha, Chakai, Katoria, Manihari, Jamui, and Pirpainti — and might expand to ten. “We will fight, win, and make sure that without the JMM, no government is formed in Bihar,” he asserted.

The JMM had earlier demanded 12 seats under the INDIA bloc but accused the Congress and RJD of ignoring its request. Bhattacharya recalled that JMM had supported both parties in the 2019 and 2024 Jharkhand elections by ceding seats and even accommodating RJD legislators in the state cabinet. “Now, after the Bihar polls , the JMM will have a relook at the coalition in Jharkhand,” he said.

Cracks widening across INDIA bloc

The disarray in Bihar and Jharkhand follows a string of recent rifts among INDIA bloc partners across states. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Congress have sparred over leadership and parliamentary strategy, with Mamata Banerjee recently declaring she would “lead the bloc if asked”. Congress dismissed the idea as “a good joke”, even as regional allies like Shiv Sena (UBT) and Samajwadi Party backed her leadership credentials.

The Aam Aadmi Party’s defeat in Delhi also reignited frustration within the bloc, with CPI general secretary D Raja warning that the “BJP’s victory serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of disunity”.

For now, the INDIA bloc’s troubles in Bihar: once the symbolic birthplace of its unity have exposed the alliance’s core weakness: too many leaders, too few agreements, and no common face.