Mahagathbandhan (Bihar)

Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) was a coalition of political parties in the Eastern state of Bihar in India, formed before the 2015 Vidhan Sabha elections in Bihar.[1]

This article is about the regional political alliance in Bihar. For the multi-state political alliance at the national level, see Mahagathbandhan.
For the national political alliance, see Mahagathbandhan.
Mahagathbandhan
LeaderTejashwi Yadav
ChairpersonLalu Prasad Yadav
Founded2015
Political positionCentre-left
AllianceUPA
No. of members5 Parties
Seats in Lok Sabha
01 / 40
Seats in Rajya Sabha
06 / 16
Seats in Bihar Legislative Assembly
109 / 243
Seats in Bihar Legislative Council
14 / 75

The alliance consisted of Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal, and Congress parties won the majority of the seats and formed the government in the state.[2] On 26 July 2017 Nitish Kumar broke the alliance and resigned from Chief Minister post. On 20 December 2018 RLSP joined Mahagathbandhan[3]

History
Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar and then leader of the Mahagathbandhan

On 7 June, Lalu Prasad Yadav announced the RJD was joining in an alliance with the JDU for the election.[4][5] On 13 July, he led a march demanding that the central government release its findings of the Socio Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC) on caste,[6][7][8] although Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan pitched for a comprehensive classification of caste data of SECC 2011 before its release,[9] and also said Lalu, Nitish will be worst impacted from the caste data even if its released.[10][11] BJP Leader Sushil Kumar Modi called for a rectification of errors in the cases of 1.46 crore people in India, including 1.75 lakh in Bihar, before releasing the caste data.[12]

On 3 August, incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar declared that he would not stand in the election.[13][14] On 11 August, he announced the seat-sharing formula, according to which JD(U) and RJD will contest 100 seats each, while Congress will contest 40 seats in Bihar.[15] NCP pulled out of this alliance later.[16] On 23 September, Nitish Kumar announced the list of 242 candidates for the JDU-RJD-INC alliance.[17][18][19] OBCs were most favoured in the alliance ticket distribution plan.[20][21][22] 10% of tickets were allotted to women candidate by the alliance.[23]

Nitish Kumar was the declared chief ministerial candidate for the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance). Kumar started his Har Ghar Dastak (door-to-door) campaign on 2 July.[24][25][26] Initially there were definite political overtures when both Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar shared stage together in a public[27] event commemorating former chief minister Satyendra Narain Sinha's birth anniversary that witnessed veiled attacks on each other, the last time[28] they did it in public. Prashant Kishor was a key election strategist for the alliance.[29][30] The Janata Dal-United started 400 audio-visual vans called Jan Bhagidari Manch for the campaign.[31] Kumar is launching 'Bihar Samman Sammelan' in various cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, to connect with the Bihari diaspora.[32]

Current members
No Party Current No. of MLAs in Bihar Assembly Current No. of MLCs in Bihar Council
1 Rashtriya Janata Dal 80 8
2 Indian National Congress 26 3
3 Communist Party of India (ML) 3  –
4 Hindustani Awam Morcha 1 1
5 Rashtriya Lok Samta Party 0 0
- Total 109 12

See also

References
  1. "Nitish alliance way ahead of BJP, wins 31 of 39 seats declared so far". Telegraphindia.com. 2015-11-08. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  2. "Reasons behind JDU-RJD-Congress Mahagathbandhan's massive win in Bihar elections". News18. 2015-11-08. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  3. https://khabar.ndtv.com/news/india/upendra-kushwaha-mahagathbandhan-upa-lok-saba-elections-2019-rlsp-1965651
  4. "Lalu, Nitish seal the deal: RJD, JD(U) form alliance for Bihar polls, seat sharing talks on cards". Firstpost.
  5. "Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav alliance may be a 90-seat worry for BJP".
  6. "Lalu leads march for caste census data".
  7. "Lalu's Ultimatum to Modi Government on Caste Census Data".
  8. "Caste census data demand is 'jehad': Lalu".
  9. "'Ram Vilas Dalit face wherever you go, Jitan Ram Manjhi can be Mahadalit face'".
  10. "Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar to be hit hardest if caste data released: Paswan".
  11. "Lalu Prasad Yadav , Nitish Kumar to be hit hardest if caste data released: Ram Vilas Paswan".
  12. "Caste census data to be release after error correction: Sushil Modi".
  13. "Won't contest Bihar polls, will devote time for campaigning, says Nitish Kumar".
  14. "Won't contest Bihar elections: Nitish Kumar".
  15. "Nitish Kumar Announces Seat-Sharing Formula For Bihar Elections: JD(U)-RJD To Contest On 100 Seats Each, Congress 40".
  16. "Bihar elections: NCP pulls out of anti-BJP alliance, may contest alone".
  17. "Bihar polls: Nitish Kumar releases 'joint list' of 242 candidates, OBCs get lion's share".
  18. "Nitish Kumar yields, Lalu Prasad gets both his sons an Assembly ticket each".
  19. "Nitish-led alliance releases list of 242 candidates for Bihar polls".
  20. "OBCs most favoured in alliance plan".
  21. "In Bihar elections, it is my social combination versus yours".
  22. "Bihar elections: OBCs and Dalits 70% in Nitish list, upper castes 42% in BJP". The Indian Express. 24 September 2015.
  23. "Little room for women in Nitish's 'Grand' design". The Times of India.
  24. "Har Ghar Dastak: Nitish's Bihar strategy is old fashioned door-to-door campaigning".
  25. "Nitish sounds poll bugle with 'Har Ghar Dastak'".
  26. Sajjad, Mohammad (8 November 2015). "How Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav won Bihar". rediff.com. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  27. "They may have 'amicably' come to a seat-sharing agreement, but 15 months of tumultuous relationship later, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav still remain frenemies". Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  28. "Giant slayer". Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  29. "Team 178: Faces behind Grand Alliance's victory in Bihar polls".
  30. "Amit Shah vs Prashant Kishor: Who will be the wizard of Bihar election?".
  31. "BJP's hi-tech chariots and JDU's Jan Bhagidari Rath setting mood for a high-voltage battle in Bihar".
  32. "Nitish, BJP to woo Bihari diaspora".
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