Bihar polls: Congress says 'ready to fight on all 243 seats', RJD's state secretary quits

In a massive jolt to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Opposition, Congress in-charge Avinash Pande on Saturday, said that the Congress is prepared to contest on all 243 seats. He cast aspersion to the Mahagathbandhan, saying it will coalesce with RJD if they reach a  'respectable' understanding with it. Moreover, RJD's state General Secretary Mohammed Firoz Hussain has resigned from the primary membership of the party.

Bihar polls: Mahagathbandhan ally RLSP dissatisfied with RJD: 'Seat-share unimportant'

Congress: 'Ready to fight on 243 seats'

Bihar BJP poll in-charge Fadnavis confident of NDA's re-election ahead of 3-phase polls

RLSP hints quitting Mahagathbandhan

Earlier on Thursday, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha expressed dissatisfaction with the RJD's leadership. Speaking at a party meet, he said that people need leadership which can stand up to Nitish Kumar. Maintaining that seat-sharing was not important, he said that it was about Bihar - which is up for polls in October-November.

Bihar polls: Sushant Rajput finds a mention in CM Nitish's rally, mourns actor's death

Political shuffle

Several jolts have occurred to the RJD ahead of the polls. Senior JD(U) leaders are reportedly in talks with former party leader Sharad Yadav, launching speculations of his 'ghar wapaasi'. Meanwhile, ex-chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, declared that his Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) will join the NDA. Similarly, RJD MLA Chandrika Rai - who was a close friend of Lalu Yadav and also Tej Pratap Yadav's father-in-law, senior MLAs Faraz Fatmi, Jaiwardhan Yadav and three more MLAs quit RJD and joined the ruling Nitish Kumar-led JDU. Recently, Senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Rai also passed away, after quitting the party. 

But jolts have also occurred in the NDA - LJP chief Chirag Paswan has constantly attacked CM Nitish Kumar, unhappy with the re-entry of Jitan Ram Manjhi in the NDA. Moreover, Bihar's Director General of Police (DGP) Gupteshwar Pandey has taken voluntary retirement (VRS) from service. Pandey had headed the Sushant Singh Rajput probe in Bihar, recommending it to be transferred to the CBI.  Pandey is touted to contest from Buxar and recently met CM Nitish Kumar. A YouTube music video featuring the ex-top cop dubbing him as the 'Robinhood of Bihar' has been released since his VRS.

Bihar will vote in 3 phases - First phase on October 28, Second phase on October 3, and the third phase on November 7. The counting of votes will be done on November 10, with results being declared on the same day. Currently, the JDU-BJP combination rules the state with 131 seats, while the RJD-Congress opposition has 111 seats.

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India's tally crosses 59 lakhs; 48,49,585 recover so far