PATNA: Union home minister Amit Shah said Friday that NDA allies will fight the Bihar assembly elections “under the leadership of JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar” but a decision on who will head the next govt will be taken by elected legislators, leading to JD(U) saying there was no ambiguity as Nitish Kumar would return as CM in the event of victory.“Elected MLAs of the coalition partners will first elect their respective party leaders, who will sit together and decide as to who will head the next government,” Shah said on a TV show.JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar put out an immediate response: “When the elections are being fought under Nitish, how can anyone else become chief minister? He is the true representative of the masses.”The Congress said, “Nitish nahi banenge CM, Amit Shah ne kar diya clear.”Phase I nominations end: Opposition candidates file papers amid deadlock over seatsDeadlock over seat-sharing in Bihar among opposition INDIA bloc partners continued even as the deadline to file nominations for the first phase of assembly polls (121 seats, Nov 6) ended Friday.RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said 71 candidates filed nominations, including CM face Tejashwi Yadav. A total of 1,698 candidates filed papers, an official said.Twenty-five nominations were filed by candidates of Congress, 14 of CPI(ML) and six from Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP). VIP’s national party president Santosh Sahani and vice-president Umesh Sahani were among the candidates who filed nominations.However, VIP founder Mukesh Sahani chose to stay out of the fray. “I am not fighting elections as I have to ensure the victory of INDIA bloc. If I contest, this will affect our campaign. I will continue to work vigorously to ensure INDIA bloc forms the next govt,” Sahani said.Asked if his party was offered a Rajya Sabha berth as part of a seat deal, the VIP founder replied: “I don’t want to go to Rajya Sabha. My aim is to become deputy chief minister.”As an understanding eluded the INDIA bloc allies, their candidates filed nominations cautiously. In the end, there were eight seats — Bachhwara, Kahalgaon, Lalganj, Gaura Bauram, Tarapur, Vaishali, Rajapakar, and Rosera — where the allies might have friendly fights if these candidates don’t withdraw from the poll fray. Monday is the last date for withdrawals.The seat impasse marks a sharp turnaround for key INDIA bloc partners RJD, Congress, Left and VIP, which had displayed rare unity till early Sept by joining a “Voter Adhikar Yatra” of Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. However, differences soon emerged on several issues, preventing them from reaching a seat-sharing agreement.
