New Delhi: Two days after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced its seat sharing arrangement in Bihar, cracks have appeared in the ruling alliance over the allocation of seats among the allies. While smaller allies like Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) have openly voiced their discontent, members of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] have also voiced their protest with the 29 seats allocated to Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP (RV)] also emerging as a sticking point.

On Wednesday morning, RLM chief and Rajya Sabha MP Kushwaha announced that “nothing is well in the NDA” following a meeting in Patna late on Tuesday night with union minister Nityanand Rai and Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary before heading to New Delhi.

“It is not a matter of being upset or happy. You should ask them [Chaudhary and Rai]. This time nothing is well in NDA,” said Kushwaha to reporters early on Wednesday morning.

Later on Wednesday, Kushwaha arrived in Delhi with Rai by his side and told reporters that there are some “issues” that are to be resolved and a meeting will be held with Union home minister Amit Shah.

“I had said this in Patna as well that there is some issue in the alliance that has to be resolved. We have come here to meet the home minister and I believe that everything will be resolved,” said Kushwaha in Delhi.

Following the meeting with Shah, Kushwaha mentioned that discussions were held on "issues" with the alliance."I had said in Patna in the morning that there was an issue with the alliance. We met the Home Minister and discussed the issue and now we hope no more difficulties will arise and the NDA will form the government in Bihar," he told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

The seat sharing arrangement announced on Monday, placed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the JD(U) on equal footing for the first time with both parties set to contest 101 seats each in the 243 Bihar assembly. Paswan's LJP (RV) will contest 29 seats, while Manjhi’s HAM and Kushwaha’s RLM will contest six seats each.

Earlier on Monday, following the announcement of the seat sharing deal, in a statement on X, Kushwaha issued an apology to his party members and supporters for not being able to secure the number of seats according to their “expectations” and that the seat sharing deal may have hurt thousands of people.

The sticking point in the alliance appears to be the larger allocation of seats to Paswan’s LJP (RV) which has angered sections of the JD(U) as well as the smaller parties in the alliance.

On Tuesday, JD(U) MP from Bhagalpur Ajay Kumar Mandal wrote to Nitish Kumar offering to resign from his post.

“Despite being a local MP, my advice was not sought in any way regarding ticket allocation. Therefore, there is no justification for me to continue in the post of MP,” he said on X, posting the letter he had written to Nitish.

Also on Tuesday, JD(U) MLA from Gopalpur, Gopal Mandal, staged a sit in protest outside the chief minister’s residence, demanding to contest the Gopalpur seat for a fifth time and was later removed by the police.

“I came here to meet the Chief Minister and will remain seated until I meet him and be assured about getting the ticket (for Assembly polls). I will wait for him, and I believe my ticket will not be denied,” he told reporters.

On Wednesday, JD(U) working president and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha sought to negate reports of any rift in the alliance and said that there is no discontent, and all decisions are taken in the JD(U) with Nitish’s approval.

“Some people are trying to build a narrative and have an agenda. Nitish Kumar has full command of Bihar as well as the JD(U). In this party, any decision is made only after consulting Nitish Kumar and considering his views. He is a democratic person, not autocratic, he discusses with everyone, takes feedback from all, and then makes a decision,” he said.

That some seats that the JD(U) had previously contested were given to LJP(RV) was also acknowledged by Union minister Manjhi who said on Tuesday that anger in the JD(U) is justified without taking Paswan’s name.

"Their anger is justified. I agree with their anger. When the decision has been made, why is someone else fielding their candidate in seats allocated to JD(U)? Agreeing with them, I too will field my candidates in Bodh Gaya and Makhdumpur. Agreeing with the step taken by Nitish Kumar, I am fielding my candidates in two seats,” he said.

On Monday, Manjhi had said that his party had demanded 15 seats but got six and though there is hurt the party will stand with the leadership's decision.

On Wednesday, the JD(U) released its first list of 57 candidates. Earlier on Tuesday, the BJP too had released its list of 71 candidates for the elections due next month.

Releasing the JD(U)'s list on Wednesday, Jha said that the party workers and NDA parties are united.

"The workers of JDU and all constituent parties of the NDA are united, determined, and enthusiastic to ensure the victory of all NDA-supported candidates and to make the honourable chief minister Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister again with an overwhelming majority," he said.

"We are confident that all NDA-supported candidates will receive the full support and blessings of the aware public of Bihar."

The allocation of 29 seats to Paswan is being seen as an acknowledgement of his party's performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In the 2020 assembly elections, Paswan had contested 135 seats independently, mostly against JD(U) candidates causing losses to the party. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it won all five of the seats it contested and became a key alliance partner for the NDA government in the centre when the BJP won 240 seats.

In a cryptic message to the smaller allies in the alliance, Union minister Giriraj Singh on Monday alluded to the BJP’s strike rate in the 2010 Bihar assembly elections, along with the JD(U)’s.

“This is what a real strike rate looks like. Today, they're rattling the strike rate while holding strong seats. In the 2010 Bihar elections, the NDA created history. Out of 243 seats, they won 206! JD(U) won 115 out of 141 seats ..strike rate 81%. BJP won 91 out of 102 seats ..strike rate 89%. Such a resounding victory has never been repeated in Bihar politics again,” he wrote on X.

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