Patna, Oct 9 As the INDIA bloc nears finalisation of its seat-sharing arrangement for the Bihar Assembly elections, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expressed hope on Thursday that the alliance will contest unitedly and defeat the NDA to "save the Constitution".
The development comes after Congress on Wednesday cleared the names of 25 candidates for constituencies it regards as traditional strongholds, a decision taken during a Central Election Committee meeting at Indira Bhawan, Delhi.
The meeting, held amid ongoing seat-sharing negotiations with principal alliance partners in the INDIA bloc -- notably the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Left parties -- was attended by senior leaders.
While the remaining seats are expected to be decided soon, speculation persists about internal tensions during the talks and over the selection of the Chief Minister's face and deputy chief minister posts.
CPI(M) General Secretary M.A. Baby reaffirmed the Left's determination to stand together with the INDIA bloc.
Speaking to IANS, he said, "We will contest the elections united. I would not say anything about seat-sharing yet. Mahagathbandhan will win, and the BJP's end will begin from Bihar."
Speaking to IANS, CPI(M) leader Ashok Dhawale said there was an optimistic environment for resolution.
"We will definitely find a solution. It is likely to happen in the next two to three days. The environment for discussion is good, and it should be resolved within two to three days," he said.
"This election is going to be very important. On one side, there is vote theft, corruption, communalism, and policies against the public. On the other hand, there is the Mahagathbandhan, which consists of parties from our INDIA bloc, ready to challenge all these issues. There will be tough competition between these two sides, and we have full confidence that no matter how much people (NDA) try to buy votes, this government must be removed at any cost," he added.
CPI(M) MLA Ajay Kumar told IANS that the alliance is prepared and confident about the win. "We are fully prepared. The Mahagathbandhan, as the India bloc, is completely ready, and we believe that the result will be very good. The Mahagathbandhan government will be formed," Ajay Kumar told IANS.
He added that the number of seats the party contests will be roughly similar to the previous election, and that seat-sharing talks are close to finalisation.
CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the negotiation process was nearing completion.
"The process is ongoing and I think everything will be finalised in a day or two. More important than the seats is the SIR attack, in which nearly 10 per cent of the people whose names should have been on the voter list were removed," he said.
He warned that Bihar's electorate recognises what he called an assault on constitutional institutions and on the rights of common people, backward communities, and the poor, and predicted a strong public response at the polls.
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