Bihar is witnessing rising tensions within the Mahagathbandhan over seat-sharing disputes. The deadlock has led to multiple constituencies seeing allied parties fielding candidates against each other, exposing cracks in the coalition ahead of the high-stakes Assembly elections.
The Grand Alliance, including the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Communist Party of India (CPI), and smaller allies, had aimed for a united front. However, disagreements over seat distribution have sparked internal competition, leaving several constituencies with rival candidates from coalition partners.
Here is the list of constituencies where alliance partners are contesting against each other.
Vaishali: Congress’ Sanjeev Kumar and RJD’s Ajay Kushwaha are contesting head-to-head. This seat in Vaishali district holds strategic importance for the Mahagathbandhan, with both parties claiming strong influence.
From the Lalganj assembly seat, RJD gave the ticket to Shivani Shukla, daughter of strongman Munna Shukla, while Congress fielded Aditya Kumar Raja.
Rajapakar assembly seat in Vaishali district, Congress’ Pratima Das faces CPI-Maale’s Mohit Paswan. The leftist party included this seat in its list of 20 candidates, while Congress prioritised it for itself.
Bachwara seat in Samastipur district, there is a clash between CPI-Maale and Congress candidates. Both have filed nominations.
Gaura Bauram assembly seat from Darbhanga district, VIP chief Mukesh Sahni was initially set to contest but later assigned the ticket to the party candidate. RJD has also fielded its candidate.
Rosra seat from Samastipur, RJD and Congress candidates are again clashing.
For the Biharsharif seat, Congress nominated Umar Khan and CPI’s Satish Yadav have intensified the dispute. This seat has a Muslim-Yadav voter base, and the NDA is portraying it as a sign of the coalition’s internal rift.
Kahalgaon seat in Bhagalpur district goes to the second phase of polling. Here, RJD’s Rajnish Yadav is contesting against Congress’ Praveen Kumar Kushwaha.