Shah: BJP, JD(U) to contest 2019 elections on equal seats
What's the story
It has been confirmed that the BJP and Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) will contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on an equal number of seats.
The confirmation came after a high-level meeting between BJP chief Amit Shah and JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday.
The exact distribution of seats will be revealed in a few days.
Here's more.
Distribution
What we know about seat distribution according to reports
According to News18's sources, the BJP and the JD(U) will contest with 16 seats each from the available 40, leaving the remaining eight seats for the two other NDA allies in Bihar.
Among those eight seats, five are expected to go to Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP, while Upendra Kushwaha's RLSP would contest from the remaining three seats.
Quote
Shah assures that Kushwaha and Paswan will remain allies
"Upendra Kushwaha and Ram Vilas Paswan will remain with us. When a new ally has joined us, there will be a reduction in seat share for everyone," Shah told the press, commenting on the seat sharing agreement.
Other details
Analysts say Prashant Kishor is responsible for the agreement
The seat sharing agreement is largely being seen as a significant victory for the JD(U), considering that the BJP had won 22 seats out of the 29 it had contested from during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, analysts say that the credit for the agreement goes to famed election strategist Prashant Kishor, who joined the JD(U) last month.