Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will embark on a four-day visit to Delhi today, during which he will hold talks with the top BJP leadership to finalise the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) seat-sharing formula in the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The elections to the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar will be held in seven phases on April 19, 26, May 7, 13, 20, 25 and June 1, according to the Election Commission of India's schedule for the national polls.
The six seats of Arrah, Begusarai, Patna Sahib, Pataliputra, Kishanganj and Hajipur where the BJP-led NDA had made a clean sweep five years ago.
The Chief Minister is likely to reach the national capital at about 8.15 pm tonight, and he is scheduled to return to Patna on Thursday.
The seat-sharing announcement is expected while Nitish Kumar, who returned to the BJP fold in January, is still in Delhi. His visit comes amidst recent meetings in Delhi and Patna to decide on the distribution of seats.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav will also be in Delhi today to participate in the final seat-sharing talks with the Congress and Left.
A deal is expected in the coming days.
On Sunday night, the RJD leader addressed the concluding programme of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Mumbai, during which he said that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi "tried to deliver a message which is quite significant in today's days...To save India's Constitution, brotherhood and to defeat hatred".
Speaking to the ANI news agency on Sunday, Tejashwi Yadav said, "We are very confident and have made all arrangements for the Lok Sabha elections. This time, the election outcome in Bihar will shock everyone."
"What has the Central government done for Bihar in these last 10 years? The work that was done in 17 months, was not done in the last 17 years. Bihar did not get a special package and the work done by the BJP-led NDA was criticised by many, including the Chief Minister," he added.
