The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has finalized its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, and it appears Nitish Kumar has largely secured his desired outcome. While the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) had to settle for an equal number of seats as the BJP (101 each), it seems to have retained control over key constituencies, despite initial disagreements.

Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJP-RV) has been allocated 29 seats. However, according to sources, the JD(U) refused to cede five specific seats that Paswan's party desired: Sonbarsa, Rajgir, Ekma, Morwa and Kahalgaon. While JD(U) did concede two seats, Tarapur and Teghra, they took Kahalgaon from BJP in exchange for Tarapur. This firm stance from Kumar highlights his determination to protect JD-U's traditional strongholds.

The seat-sharing arrangement within the NDA initially triggered internal discord, with the JD-U reportedly expressing displeasure over the allocation of several of its stronghold seats to alliance partners. A major point of contention was the Sonbarsa seat in the Saharsa district, currently held by JD-U leader Ratnesh Sada. The JD-U had already announced Sada as its candidate, and the initial decision to allocate it to LJP(RV) was not well-received within the party.

Jitan Ram Manjhi, chief of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), has voiced his support for Nitish Kumar amidst the seat-sharing disagreements. Manjhi declared that his party would field candidates in Bodh Gaya and Makhdumpur, both seats claimed by Chirag Paswan's LJP (Ram Vilas). Manjhi stated, "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 Bodhgaya and Makhdumpur...Agreeing with the step taken by Nitish Kumar, I am fielding my candidates in two seats". HAM and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) have each been allotted six seats.

While Chirag Paswan's LJP-RV has emerged as a significant gainer in the seat-sharing arrangement, securing 29 seats after strong negotiations, the final agreement reflects Nitish Kumar's influence within the NDA. Paswan's party had won all five seats it contested in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, earning a larger share in the upcoming Assembly polls. Upendra Kushwaha's RLM also received six seats.

The announcement of the seat-sharing arrangement was jointly made by top NDA leaders, including Bihar BJP election in-charge Vinod Tawde, JD-U Working President Sanjay Jha, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha, Chirag Paswan, and Bihar BJP President Dilip Jaiswal. Despite the initial signs of unrest, Union Minister Chirag Paswan stated that the NDA family is intact, and all alliance partners will campaign vigorously to return the NDA to power in Bihar. Jitan Ram Manjhi also expressed satisfaction over the seat allocation.

The Bihar Assembly elections, scheduled for two phases on November 6 and 11, will be a crucial test for the NDA alliance. The results will be declared on November 14.