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Economic Times
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Economic Times
Bihar Election 2025: INDIA Bloc eyes wider social reach in Bihar, seat talks heat up
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel New Delhi: As the seat-sharing talk is progressing among Bihar's opposition INDIA bloc , there is a growing feeling to look for ways to expand the alliance's social electoral base beyond the RJD 's by-now saturated Yadav-Muslim (Y-M) core base. This, according to sources, has led to hectic bargaining among some existing allies and negotiations with potential new entrants, which have also put pressure on Congress to settle for fewer seats than the 70 it fought in 2020 only to win just 17 seats."The INDIA bloc allies have already exchanged their respective wish lists and now we are in inter-party negotiations. There is a feeling that we need to expand our alliance to appeal to more social segments and that some allies will have to be realistic this time and need to show accommodation", said a senior alliance Congress leaders are maintaining it's too early to quote its share of seats, there are indications of them having to right-seize their scale to a 45-55 range given allies' pressure. With Bihar Congress now on Rahul Gandhi-led social justice plank, allies are debating whether the party has gained any new base among OBC-EBCs (from RJD/JD(U) hold) or, it will end up losing the remains of upper caste are on with at least three smaller parties for wooing aggregating social segments. JMM, which leads the ruling INDIA bloc in Jharkhand, is seeking entry into Bihar Opposition alliance by claiming influence in some seats bordering Mukesh Sahni-led VIP, which appeals to fishermen-boatmen communities and won 4 seats in NDA alliance in 2020, is negotiating with INDIA bloc by seeking over 10 seats. With NDA housing two Dalit parties - Chirag Paswan-led LJP(RV) and Jitan ram Manjhi-led HAM (and BSP on its own course), the Opposition's need to project a Dalit ally has led to talks with Pashupati Paras-led RLJP despite its uncertain electoral ally, the CPI-ML, which sprung the best strike rate in 2020 by winning 12 of 19 seats it fought, is seeking around 30 odd seats this time by citing its growing base and vote-transfer capacity, it is learnt. The alliance leader RJD (which fought 140 plus seats last time) is also being tested on the bargaining table."Given RJD's saturation at winning 75-80 seats in past two Assembly polls, its poor show in LS election and its need for a larger social-electoral reach in this make-or-break election, will also have to make some space this time for accommodating allies ", said an alliance partner. The CPI and CPI-M may settle for about 6 plus seats each.
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Bihar Election 2025: INDIA Bloc eyes wider social reach in Bihar, seat talks heat up
New Delhi: As the seat-sharing talk is progressing among Bihar's opposition INDIA bloc , there is a growing feeling to look for ways to expand the alliance's social electoral base beyond the RJD 's by-now saturated Yadav-Muslim (Y-M) core base. This, according to sources, has led to hectic bargaining among some existing allies and negotiations with potential new entrants, which have also put pressure on Congress to settle for fewer seats than the 70 it fought in 2020 only to win just 17 seats. "The INDIA bloc allies have already exchanged their respective wish lists and now we are in inter-party negotiations. There is a feeling that we need to expand our alliance to appeal to more social segments and that some allies will have to be realistic this time and need to show accommodation", said a senior alliance leader. While Congress leaders are maintaining it's too early to quote its share of seats, there are indications of them having to right-seize their scale to a 45-55 range given allies' pressure. With Bihar Congress now on Rahul Gandhi-led social justice plank, allies are debating whether the party has gained any new base among OBC-EBCs (from RJD/JD(U) hold) or, it will end up losing the remains of upper caste support. Negotiations are on with at least three smaller parties for wooing aggregating social segments. JMM, which leads the ruling INDIA bloc in Jharkhand, is seeking entry into Bihar Opposition alliance by claiming influence in some seats bordering Jharkhand. The Mukesh Sahni-led VIP, which appeals to fishermen-boatmen communities and won 4 seats in NDA alliance in 2020, is negotiating with INDIA bloc by seeking over 10 seats. With NDA housing two Dalit parties - Chirag Paswan-led LJP(RV) and Jitan ram Manjhi-led HAM (and BSP on its own course), the Opposition's need to project a Dalit ally has led to talks with Pashupati Paras-led RLJP despite its uncertain electoral potential. Live Events Existing ally, the CPI-ML, which sprung the best strike rate in 2020 by winning 12 of 19 seats it fought, is seeking around 30 odd seats this time by citing its growing base and vote-transfer capacity, it is learnt. The alliance leader RJD (which fought 140 plus seats last time) is also being tested on the bargaining table. "Given RJD's saturation at winning 75-80 seats in past two Assembly polls, its poor show in LS election and its need for a larger social-electoral reach in this make-or-break election, will also have to make some space this time for accommodating allies ", said an alliance partner. The CPI and CPI-M may settle for about 6 plus seats each.
Time of India
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Congress questions Centre's intention on caste census
A day after the government announced the schedule for the census, Congress tried to air suspicion about the BJP-led regime's commitment to hold a caste census. The opposition party appeared sceptical even after the Centre's statement that caste enumeration will be held along with the census. "The intention of the Centre appears to buy time, grab headlines and manage the narrative," AICC general secretary Sachin Pilot said at an official press conference on Tuesday, questioning the government's seriousness to conduct a caste census. Stressing on the Rahul Gandhi-led demand for caste census, Pilot said the government's intention is doubtful. "The objective is not just to collect data on an individual's caste but to understand the living conditions of these families and create policies to substantially improve their livelihoods. Without tangible data, no state or central government can implement targeted interventions, which is what we aimed to achieve," he said, while projecting the recent caste survey conducted by the Congress government in Telangana as a model to emulate. Making a case that the budgetary allocation for the census is inadequate, he said: "They plan to start the exercise in 2027, but the required funding for the census is ₹10,000 crore, whereas the government has allocated (in the last budget) only ₹574 crore," he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Top 25 Most Beautiful Women In The World Articles Vally Undo While Congress is trying to make an issue with an eye on the Bihar assembly polls , party circles are doubtful of the sustainability of its grouse as the ruling establishment is bound to roll out all details of the census exercise.
