BJP to contest one more seat than JDU in Bihar for Lok Sabha Elections 2024

Patna : BJP used to play a supporting role to Nitish Kumar in Bihar. But now, things are changing for the first time; NDA will be contesting over 17 seats and JDU will fight on 16 out of 40 seats in the state. Chirag Paswan's LJP will contest on five seats, Upendra Kushwaha and Jitan Ram Manjhi will contest on one seat each.

Interestingly, Chirag Paswan had recently claimed that "every party, every coalition want him to be on their side." However, he settled for five seats for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections today. He has also clarified that his uncle, Pashupati Paras, will not be contesting over any seat from his quota.

For BJP, getting Chirag Paswan's support is a win-win situation as the isolation it was feeling with Nitish Kumar’s deal due to Grand Alliance defection talks has now ended. It has given a much-needed relief for the NDA ahead of crucial Lok Sabha elections.

It must be noted that BJP will be contesting over one extra seat, making itself as an alpha in the alliance.

In 2019, BJP and JDU had decided to go ahead with a 50:50 formula and contested over equal number of seats. The division was made that 17 seats, each for the BJP and JDU, and six for LJP were given.

The Alliance had won 39 seats out of 40. Only one seat had gone to the opposition.