Bihar Polls: How A Non-Existent JMM Is Spelling Trouble For Tejashwi Yadavs RJD
Bihar Election 2025: With Bihar assembly elections only months away, the political parties are keen on finalising their seat share and candidate names. The fight in Bihar is between two alliances mainly -the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan. The NDA comprises political parties like the BJP, JDU, RJPRV and HAM while the Mahagathbandhan consists of RJD, Congress, VIP, JMM and Left parties. The NDA and the Mahagathbandhan have intensified their efforts to reach a seat-sharing agreement with their allies. Amid this, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has reportedly spelt trouble for the RJD by demanding 12 seats.
Notably, JMM is the ruling party in neighbouring state Jharkhand where its allies are Congress, Left and RJD. In the 2024 Jharkhand assembly polls, the JMM had given six seats and a ministerial post to the RJD in Jharkhand. Now, it wants Tejashwi Yadav’s party to return the favour. While Jharkhand has 81 assembly seats, Bihar has 243 seats.
The RJD is unlikely to accept the JMM’s demand given the past electoral performances. In the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, the JMM had contested five seats — Pirpainti, Katoria, Jhajha, Chakai and Manihari. However, it failed to win any. This time, the JMM is staking claim on 12 seats including Tarapur, Belhar, Katoria, Chakai, Jhajaha, Dhamdaha, Manihari.
Seat-sharing talks within the Mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar are hitting a few roadblocks, particularly due to the growing demands of alliance partner Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). With the Congress insisting on contesting 70 seats—matching its tally from the 2020 Assembly elections—the discussions are becoming increasingly complex. The RJD, the leading party in the alliance, appears reluctant to offer more than 50 to 55 seats to Congress, creating tension within the alliance.
Formal talks began last month when senior leaders from the Mahagathbandhan convened in Patna to kick-start preparations and shortlist potential candidates, reported the Indian Express. However, with each party eyeing a bigger share of the pie, reaching a consensus is proving tricky.
In the last Assembly elections held in 2020, the NDA, led by Nitish Kumar, managed to form the government by securing 125 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan fell just short with 110. The RJD had emerged as the single largest party, winning 75 out of the 144 seats it contested. The Congress, however, had a disappointing run, winning just 19 out of 70 seats. Left parties—CPI(ML), CPI, and CPI(M)—also participated, contesting 19, 6, and 4 seats respectively.
With past performances still fresh in memory and future stakes high, seat-sharing talks are expected to remain tense as the alliance attempts to find a formula that keeps all partners on board.
