PATNA: With the first phase of Bihar assembly elections less than a month away, the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc continue to grapple with the contentious issue of seat sharing.

Senior leaders negotiating seat sharing are further burdened by allies' demands for specific seats. Allies are not only seeking good number of seats, but also demaning favourable seats where their prospects of winning are higher.

In fact, smaller parties led by Union Ministers Chirag Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi, both NDA partners, have proved hard bargainers. Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has demanded 40-45 seats and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) 15-18 seats.

As a result, NDA two major allies—BJP and JD(U)—have decided to contest less number of seats compared to the

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