Congress Clears 25 Candidates For Bihar Polls Amid Seat-Sharing Talks With Allies

The Congress senior leadership on Wednesday discussed party candidates for the upcoming assembly elections and is said to have finalised the names of 25 candidates amid seat-sharing negotiations with 'Mahagathbandhan' partners in Bihar.

According to PTI, at a Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting at Indira Bhawan, prominent figures such as Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi participated virtually in the discussions to choose the party candidates.

The meeting was also attended by K C Venugopal, the general secretary of the AICC, Ajay Maken, the party treasurer, and other dignitaries.

According to Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram, all of the state's leaders  participated in the discussions at the CEC meeting.

He claimed that the seats up for discussion today are congressional strongholds that the coalition partners have already cleared.

"At the CEC meeting, we said those seats which are traditionally held by the Congress would remain with us...for which candidates have also been decided after deliberations," the Bihar Congress chief said.

"But, we will declare the names of candidates only after discussion with our alliance partners and also with our state leaders," he told reporters.

He said the number of seats each partner would contest would be announced jointly.

"We are happy with the seats discussed today at the CEC meeting... All top leaders agreed to our suggestions and candidates proposed by state leaders," he said.

PTI reported that Rajesh Ram also said there is no fight in the Mahagathbandhan partners for seats.

"We will jointly decide the candidates and announce them at a press conference, after clarity amongst all our partners," he added.

Shakeel Ahmed, the leader of the Congress CLP in the Bihar Assembly, stated that the CEC had approved the seats, which are Congress strongholds.

"One round of discussions with alliance partners remains, and after that we would decide on the seats that each one is contesting," Ahmed said on questions of seat-sharing.

Mohammed Jawaid, a CEC member and Congress MP from Kishanganj, later claimed that senior leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and party president Kharge participated virtually in the talks.

"The party has cleared the names of 25 candidates for the upcoming Bihar polls," he told reporters after the meeting.

The discussions took place parallel to ongoing seat-sharing negotiations with its allies, the Left and RJD parties.

On November 6 and 11, Bihar will hold two phases of assembly elections in which the RJD-led opposition coalition will attempt to overthrow the incumbent NDA.  On November 14, the votes will be counted.

With PTI inputs.