Political turmoil intensified in Bihar on Thursday as the Congress Party demanded a fair share of seats from the Mahagathbandhan allies in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, expected to be held by the end of the year.

Bihar State Congress Party President Akhilesh Prasad Singh expressed the confidence that the Congress party will win 40-50 seats if it gets a fair share in the final seat arrangement.

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Speaking at a reception held in Patna on Thursday to welcome the newly-appointed Bihar in-charge of Congress Party Krishna Allavaru, he said, “We will contest the elections together. I urge the allies to ensure proper seat sharing. We are confident that the Congress Party will win 40-50 seats.”

He also demanded that seat-sharing arrangement should be according to the parties’ performance in the Lok Sabha elections held in 2024. The Congress party had contested as a Mahagathbandhan ally in nine constituencies and won three seats.

“In nine constituencies, our vote share increased considerably compared to the previous assembly elections. The party got over 9 lakh more votes in the parliamentary elections,” he said, adding that the party’s growing popularity must be considered at the time of final seat-sharing.

His demand has intensified the political stir in Bihar, as other partners of the Mahagathbandhan keep mentioning the Congress Party’s poor performance in the assembly elections held in 2020.

The Congress Party had contested in 70 constituencies and won only 19 seats. RJD had contested in 144 constituencies and won 75. While the CPI (ML), which contested the election as a Mahagathbandhan ally for the first time, had won 12 seats out of the 19 it had contested.

Realising that the party’s poor performance will once again be raised at the time of the final seat sharing, the Bihar Congress Party President has made an attempt to put pressure on the alliance partners much in advance.

Krishna Allavaru, the newly-appointed Bihar in-charge of Congress Party, called upon the workers to unite and strengthen the party. He asked them to go to their respective villages, panchayats and wards and start preparation for the upcoming elections. He warned party leaders that internal conflicts will not be tolerated.