Senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot met Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday in a high-stakes effort to resolve escalating tensions within the Mahagathbandhan alliance over seat-sharing for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, underscoring the coalition's fragility just weeks before voting begins. The closed-door discussions at Yadav's residence in Patna aimed to avert a damaging split in the opposition front, which includes Congress, RJD, and the Communist Party of India (CPI), against the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Gehlot, the former Rajasthan Chief Minister, was accompanied by All India Congress Committee (AICC) Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru. Emerging from the meeting, Gehlot told reporters that a Bihar victory is "extremely important" for Congress, especially after the party's drubbing in the recent Maharashtra state elections, where the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition lost power amid internal discord and the BJP's resurgence. "The Bihar polls will set the tone for national politics. It is essential that the NDA, which has caused divisions in society and messed up the economy, gets a setback. The people of Bihar are wise enough to realise this," Gehlot asserted, framing the stakes as a broader referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governance.

Tensions boiled over on Monday when RJD unilaterally announced a list of 143 candidates, sparking direct clashes with Congress in at least five seats—dubbed "friendly fights" by both sides—and pitting Congress hopefuls against CPI nominees in three others. These overlaps, primarily in the state's northern and eastern districts, risk fragmenting anti-NDA votes and bolstering the incumbents, who secured a landslide in 2020 by capitalising on caste-based mobilisation and development promises. Gehlot downplayed the rifts earlier, suggesting "a friendly fight in five or ten seats was no big deal," but post-meeting optimism tempered urgency: "We hope things will be ironed out by the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers tomorrow." However, deadlines for the first phase of polling, set for November 6, already expired on Monday, leaving little room for adjustments in those constituencies and amplifying fears of a disjointed campaign.

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Gehot sidestepped questions on formally anointing RJD's Tejashwi Yadav as the alliance's chief ministerial face, a demand that has fuelled speculation of power-sharing imbalances favouring the Yadav family's influence in Bihar's backward caste politics. "Why do you want me to make such an announcement? You have seen the chemistry between Rahul [Gandhi] and Tejashwi during the Voter Adhikar Yatra two months ago... They will take an appropriate decision at an appropriate time," he replied, alluding to the leaders' joint tour that drew crowds but failed to seal electoral arithmetic. Gehlot also accused the media of pro-NDA bias, claiming greater internal turmoil in Nitish Kumar's camp—marked by recent JD(U)-BJP frictions over cabinet berths—has been underreported. He announced a joint Mahagathbandhan press conference for Thursday to project unity.

With the 243-seat Bihar Assembly heading to polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results due on November 14, the alliance's unity is pivotal for opposition revival. Bihar, with its 130 million voters and history of fluid alliances, often mirrors national trends; a Mahagathbandhan win could invigorate Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra momentum. Yet, surveys like those from C-Voter indicate NDA's edge at 45% vote share versus the opposition's 38%, hinging on rural turnout and Yadav-Muslim consolidation. As withdrawal windows close, Gehlot's intervention highlights the high-wire act of coalition-building in India's polarised politics.

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