Bihar's Shifting Alliances: How Every Player Changed Sides

New Delhi: The battle lines in Bihar are clearly drawn, with the BJP today announcing how its coalition will divide Bihar's 243 seats. The rival alliance led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had announced its seat-sharing formula weeks ago, losing ally Samajwadi Party in a serious side-effect.

"On the one side is a coalition of compulsion. On the other, an alliance with a common chemistry and similar ideologies," BJP chief Amit Shah said today. By his side, the BJP's regional allies smiled for the cameras.

They are all new friends. The BJP had contested the 2010 assembly elections as the junior partner of Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United, a winning team that bested the Lalu Yadav-Ram Vilas Paswan combo.   

This time, Nitish Kumar and the BJP face off as chief rivals, Lalu Yadav plays ally to Mr Kumar's JD(U) and Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party is part of NDA. Till last year, Lalu Yadav was one of Nitish Kumar's most bitter rivals.

The man who has not really changed sides is Jitan Ram Manjhi. He was a BJP ally in 2010 as part of the JD(U) and is a BJP ally now, after JD(U) dumped him earlier this year because he refused to vacate the chief minister's post for Nitish Kumar.

Mr Manjhi now heads a new party -- the Hindustan Awam Manch (Secular).

The Congress is the minor partner in the anti-BJP alliance. In 2010, its vice president Rahul Gandhi decided to contest the Bihar elections alone. The party contested all 243 seats, won four.

The complete shake-up in political relationships was made necessary by Nitish Kumar's decision to end his party's 18-year alliance with the BJP in 2013.

The BJP found new allies in Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Samata Party and Mr Paswan and swept the national elections together in Bihar. That compelled Mr Kumar to reach out to Lalu Yadav and the Congress.

Bihar votes in five phases beginning next month. Votes will be counted on November 8.