"NDA is united under Nitish Kumar's leadership": Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan on Bihar Assembly elections

Patna (Bihar) [India], October 14 : Union Minister and JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh on Tuesday said that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar remains firmly united under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's leadership and said Mahagathbandhan is not an alliance but a gang of cheats.
Speaking to ANI, Singh said, "If the leaders of the Mahagathbandhan want to contest the elections, they should do so with the support of the people. That is why we say that this is not an alliance but a gang of cheats."
He emphasised that all decisions in the JD(U), including seat sharing and candidate selection, are made with Nitish Kumar's approval. "No one in our party moves forward without Nitish Kumar's consent. From seat sharing to the allocation of individual seats, everything is done with his knowledge and consent," Singh said.
Accusing the Mahagathbandhan of spreading false narratives, JD(U) leader said, "These (Mahagathbandhan) people are not getting the support of the people in the elections, so they are indulging in malicious propaganda. Why would Nitish Kumar be angry?"
"The NDA is united under Nitish Kumar's leadership and will contest the elections under his leadership. Nitish Kumar is the universally accepted leader of the NDA, and we are contesting the elections under his leadership," Singh added.
Earlier today, Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) President Chirag Paswan on Tuesday said that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, following what he described as "amicable discussions" among partners.
Paswan stated that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, all NDA parties are fully prepared and united ahead of the forthcoming polls.
"The issue of seat allocation among NDA parties has been resolved through amicable discussions. The discussion on which party will contest which seat is also in its final stage with positive talks. Under the leadership of Modi ji and Nitish ji, all NDA parties are fully prepared with unity. Bihar is ready. NDA government," Paswan wrote in a post on X.
Polls for the 243-seat Bihar Assembly are scheduled to take place on November 6 and November 11, and votes will be counted on November 14.
Earlier on Sunday, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Bihar elections, with the BJP and JDU to contest on 101 seats each, the LJP (Ram Vilas) on 29 seats, the Rashtriya Lok Morcha on six seats, and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) on six seats.
The NDA partners include the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) (JDU), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha.
In these elections, the NDA will be up against the INDIA bloc, led by Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD, the Congress, the CPI (ML) led by Deepankar Bhattacharya, the CPI, the CPM, and Mukesh Sahani's Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP). This time, Bihar will also see the entry of a new player in the form of Prashant Kishor and his party Jan Suraaj.