'Difficult days ahead for Nitish': Pappu Yadav's assertion on NDA seat-sharing deal for Bihar polls

Patna, Oct 12 (IANS) As the dust settles on the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) freshly inked seat-sharing pact for Bihar's high-stakes Assembly elections, a storm of opposition vitriol has erupted, with firebrand Purnia MP Pappu Yadav delivering a blistering taunt that paints Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a 'political corpse', abandoned by his own allies in a calculated BJP-orchestrated demise.

In a scathing post on the social media platform X, Yadav, the independent Parliamentarian known for his unfiltered barbs, zeroed in on Janata Dal (United) national executive president Sanjay Kumar Jha, accusing him of masterminding a "conspiracy to force Nitish Kumar to resign as Chief Minister".

"Sanjay Jha accomplished his mission today," Yadav thundered. "The plot to finish off Nitish is complete."

His words, laced with dramatic flair, have ignited a fierce debate, framing the NDA's internal arithmetic as a betrayal of Bihar's long-serving helmsman, who has flip-flopped alliances like a weather vane in a monsoon gale.

Yadav's dissection of the deal is as surgical as it is savage. He lambasted the allocation, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims a lion's share of 101 seats, while the Janata Dal (United) (JD-U) – Nitish Kumar's beleaguered bastion – is grudgingly handed an equal number.

Yadav’s taunt strikes at Bihar’s caste fault lines, where the NDA’s formula risks alienating JD-U’s core voters – the extremely backward classes and Mahadalits.

With polling set for 6 and 11 November across 243 constituencies and results due on 16 November, his rhetoric aims to fracture the NDA’s voter base by painting Nitish as a betrayed figurehead.

Congress MP Manoj Jha piled on, questioning HAM leader Jitan Ram Manjhi’s paltry six-seat haul. “Does this bring respect to the Dalit community?” Jha jabbed.

“You claimed 15 seats were needed for national party status. And Upendra Kushwaha, do six seats honour the Kushwaha community?” Jha mocked Manjhi’s vow to stay loyal to the Prime Minister, suggesting it’s a survival tactic to avoid being sidelined, referencing former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s alleged marginalisation.

Jha also hinted at the opposition Mahagathbandhan’s ongoing seat-sharing talks, asking: “Will we finalise by Monday?”

In contrast, JD-U’s Sanjay Jha celebrated the NDA’s pact on X, proclaiming: “Allies have sealed the deal cordially: JDU and BJP, 101 seats each; LJP (Ram Vilas), 29; RLM and HAM, six each. United, we’ll re-elect Nitish Kumar with a landslide. Bihar is ready for an NDA government again!”

Yet, Yadav’s claim that the BJP has reduced Nitish to a junior partner stings, especially as the deal, forged in Delhi and Patna, leaves smaller allies like HAM and RLM with minimal leverage.

As nominations accelerate and the Assembly’s term nears its 22 November end, Bihar’s political cauldron simmers. Yadav’s barbs, amplifying discontent among marginalised voters, challenge the NDA’s unity. Will his fiery narrative sway the electorate, or will Nitish’s resilience prevail? In Bihar’s volatile ballot bazaar, every seat is a battleground.

--IANS

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