While the Election Commission (EC) has announced the dates for the Bihar Assembly elections to be held in two phases – 121 seats on November 6 and 122 seats on November 11 – both the ruling NDA and the Opposition Mahagathbandhan have yet to conclude their seat-sharing negotiations in the face of pushback from their smaller partners.

In the NDA camp, amid reports of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president and Union minister Chirag Paswan ’s reluctance to settle for fewer seats than his demand for 40, another ally and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi , the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief, has now openly voiced his concerns.

The former Bihar chief minister said Wednesday that if his party is not allotted at least 15 seats, it would withdraw from contesting the polls while still

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