After hectic parleys and many rounds of negotiations the Rashtriya Janata Dal-led opposition grand alliance is likely to announce its seat-sharing formula in Patna on Wednesday.
It took the alliance more than a month after the first time the allies came together at a Patna rally on February 3 to finalise the sharing of seats. According to sources, a compromise has been reached between the Congress and the RJD. The Congress was upset by the RJD’s decision to whittle down its quota from 11 to nine to accommodate other allies. It went incommunicado after the offer. Sources claimed that exasperated RJD leaders who were under pressure from within had decided to go ahead and hold a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday afternoon along with the other six allies – Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam Party, Sharad Yadav’s Lok Jantantrik Party, Mukesh Sahni’s Vikasheel Insaan Party, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (ML).
The Congress pleaded with the RJD to put off the press conference and sought more time.
The RJD, according to sources, told the Congress that the seats were not theirs to give or the Congress’s to take. It asked the Congress to play an active role in negotiating with the other allies if it wanted more seats. Accordingly, Congress general secretary in-charge Shakti Sinh Gohil met a couple of allies, including the Communist Party of India’s national secretary D. Raja.
Leaders from both parties were tight-lipped about the details of the final deal. “We have worked out an out-of-the-box idea which will work for both the Congress and the RJD,” a Congress source said.
The RJD leaders also said a deal had been arrived at. “We will announce it on Wednesday but at this stage we are not in a position to discuss the details,” a senior RJD leader said.
