Bihar elections: Kanhaiya Kumar hints seat-sharing decision to be announced soon

New Delhi [India], October 16 : Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Congress leader and NSUI in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar on Thursday hinted that a formal announcement on seat-sharing among the INDIA bloc partners would be made soon. He said that while the final decisions rest with senior party leadership, discussions are progressing in the right direction.
Drawing a comparison between running a media organisation and managing a political alliance, Kumar stressed the importance of coordination and teamwork in both spaces. He expressed confidence that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led alliance would return to power in the state.
Kumar further stated in his interview that the people believed in Tejashwi Yadav as their leader, defending the leader's promise to provide government jobs to families in the state and work towards eliminating unemployment, while also stating that it was not impossible to achieve this goal.
Taking aim at the Nitish Kumar-led state government, Kumar said that the upcoming elections were a direct reflection of the public's demand for change, accusing the government of failing to meet the people's needs over the last 20 years.
He also spoke about his personal migration to Delhi, stating that despite Bihar's rich and diverse history, poor governance had forced countless people to leave the state in search of better opportunities.
Highlighting governance issues, Kumar referred to a CAG report which pointed to Rs 73,000 crore in unutilised government funds. He also cited bizarre incidents such as reports of rats drinking liquor despite prohibition laws, theft of public infrastructure, including bridges, bribery across departments, repeated incidents of question paper leaks, and police action on students.
Speaking during a discussion at Aaj Tak, Kumar clarified that he would not be contesting the upcoming election but would continue to campaign across all 243 constituencies in support of the Mahagathbandhan candidates.
He further stated that despite changing his political party, his ideological foundation remained the same. "My beliefs have not changed. Only the platform has," he said.
On his political struggles, Kumar said that he continued to be "sharif" (gentle) towards the vote thieves.
He also expressed a sense of satisfaction that, despite losing two elections, he continued to receive attention and interviews from leading journalists, which he interpreted as an acknowledgement of his honesty in politics.
Touching on the political arithmetic involving the NDA partners, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and other political leaders, he argued that politics was neither mathematics nor chemistry.
Kumar further claimed that there had been internal challenges within the NDA, citing examples of local party leaders being marginalised when outside candidates were given tickets, which led to resignations and conflicts.
The assembly elections in Bihar on 243 seats are scheduled to be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. The counting of votes has been scheduled for November 14.
The final date for filing a nomination for the first phase of the assembly elections is October 17, while that for the second phase is October 20.
The main contest will be between the NDA, led by the BJP and Janata Dal (United), and the INDIA alliance, spearheaded by Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The INDIA alliance is aiming to unseat Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who currently leads the NDA in the state.