Bihar’s political theatre has once again demonstrated a familiar truth of Indian elections: alliances win only when they remain intact. The widening cracks between the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress in the run-up to the state assembly elections have transformed what was meant to be a united opposition into a fragmented front — inadvertently handing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) a tactical edge.

The alliance that couldn’t hold

On paper, the Mahagathbandhan — the grand alliance of RJD, Congress, and smaller regional outfits — was envisioned as a formidable counterweight to the BJP’s dominance. In practice, it has become a theatre of competing ambitions. Seat-sharing negotiations, instead of showcasing unity, have turned into a public spectacle of distrust and compromise.

Despite aiming to contest around 70 seats, the Congress was forced to settle for just 59–61 under pressure from the RJD, exposing its weakened bargaining power and reduced stature within the Mahagathbandhan. Meanwhile, the RJD, fielding over 140–143 candidates, has encroached on several Congress-dominated constituencies — districts where Congress once held a firm base but now faces competition not from the BJP, but from its own ally. This aggressive seat strategy highlights RJD’s bid for supremacy within the alliance, even at the cost of cannibalizing Congress’s traditional vote bank.

The situation escalated when both parties fielded candidates against each other in multiple constituencies, including traditional Congress strongholds like Kahalgaon, Vaishali, Narkatiaganj, and Sultanganj. What began as a tussle over allocation soon........

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