Congress must be realistic, RJD accommodative in seat-sharing in Bihar polls: Dipankar

CPI(ML) Liberation's general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya urged Congress to take a "more realistic" approach in Bihar's ongoing seat-sharing talks ahead of the assembly elections.

The party is a part of Bihar's Grand Alliance. Bhattacharya cited Congress's 2020 election performance, saying the party "had bitten off more than it could chew".

Meanwhile, he hoped his party would contest in more seats across more districts compared to the last assembly polls.

Bhattacharya added that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the largest partner in the Opposition Grand Alliance, Mahagathbandhan, should be more accommodating to smaller allies as Bihar's INDIA bloc is expected to expand with new entrants.

He confirmed that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav would be the INDIA bloc's Chief Ministerial face if the Grand Alliance came to power. He also hopes his party would get a chance to contest at least 40 of the 243 seats, up from 19 in the previous election.

Speaking to the news agency PTI, Bhattacharya said that seat-sharing talks were underway, and they were delayed because agitation over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) which required time and energy.

"I am hopeful that by the end of this month, we will have a clearer picture," he added.

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Overambitious Congress

Criticising Congress’s demand for more seats, Bhattacharya pointed out that the party’s overambitious strategy had hurt the Mahagathbandhan in the last assembly elections.

He said, "I saw reports about some Congress leaders seeking around 70 seats. But last time they contested 70 and managed to win only 19". He contrasted this with the 2015 polls, when the RJD-JD(U)-Congress coalition, excluding the Left parties, performed better.

"In 2015, Congress won 27 of the 40 seats it contested, a strong strike rate. But in 2020, when it contested 70, it had bitten off more than it could chew. So I think the balance should be somewhere in between," he remarked.

"Maybe contesting fewer seats than last time but winning more and performing better would be in the interest of the Congress, and definitely that of the entire INDIA bloc," he added, urging the party to be "realistic".

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Grand Alliance in 2020 polls

In the 2020 elections, the Grand Alliance - then comprising the RJD, Congress and Left parties - gave a spirited fight but fell short of a majority, with political observers blaming Congress's poor strike rate for dragging the alliance down.

The RJD emerged as the single-largest party, winning 75 of the 144 seats it contested, while Congress won only 19. The CPI(ML) Liberation emerged as the surprise performer, winning 12 of the 19 seats it contested, while CPI and CPI(M) won two each.

Bhattacharya said that the RJD, as the biggest partner, followed by the Congress, must be flexible and accommodating.

"The CPI(ML) Liberation was underrepresented last time, and we want fair representation this time. There are new allies too, which means RJD and Congress will have to contest fewer seats compared to 2020. They have to be more accommodating," he added.

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Bihar Grand Alliance

Currently, six parties form the Grand Alliance -- RJD, Congress, CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI, CPI(M) and Mukesh Sahni's Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), a new entrant. The Lok Janshakti Party (Paras faction) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) are also likely to be part of it ahead of the elections later this year.

"We will have to accommodate a few more people. I am not sure if JMM will contest as a party or field some candidates. But the point is, the alliance had grown bigger and we needed to reflect that in seat-sharing," he said.

On the Mahagathbandhan's CM candidate, he said, "There may not be any formal announcement, but RJD is the biggest party of the INDIA bloc. So, the Leader of the Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, is obviously the Chief Ministerial face. There is no ambiguity about it."

"The only reason why this formal announcement was not being made is probably because people think you don't put the cart before the horse. We will cross the bridge when we came to it, after securing a majority," he said.

Asked about the possibility of Deputy Chief Ministers, following subtle demands by certain allies, Bhattacharya said, "These things can wait till we have a clear picture after the elections."

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CPI(ML) demands 40 seats

The Left party expects to contest in more seats from more districts, compared to the last polls. "Last time, we contested only 19 seats but won 12. More than that, we contested in only 12 of Bihar's 38 districts. So we hope we get to contest from more districts, on more seats," he said.

He said that his party already submitted a list of some 40 seats and expressed the party's interest to contest from both south and north Bihar. "Because, wherever we contested last time, if you look at those districts, you can see that we improved the coalition’s performance," he added.

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'INDIA bloc is determined'

Bhattacharya said the INDIA bloc is committed to avoiding a repeat 2020 situation.

"Last time, the INDIA bloc gave a good fight but missed the mark. That is why we hope we would get a decisive mandate this time because if it was a narrow majority, it would be very difficult to sustain the government against the BJP's political tactics," he said.

In 2020, the BJP had won 74 seats, whereas its ally Nitish Kumar's JD(U) bagged 43 seats. The VIP, which was then part of NDA, and Hindustani Awam Morcha won four seats each.

On the ruling NDA's possible strategy, he scoffed, "They are all pretending that Nitish Kumar is their chosen CM candidate till 2030 but in reality, there is a very strong anti-incumbency and anger against the NDA government in Bihar."