PATNA, Oct. 18 -- Even before finalising the seat-sharing arrangement with its allies, including the RJD, the Congress released a list of 48 candidates for the Bihar assembly elections in a dramatic late-night move on Thursday. The announcement, made hours before Friday's deadline for filing nominations in the first phase covering 121 constituencies set for polling on November 6, underscores unprecedented disarray within the opposition INDIA bloc. This marks the first time in recent electoral history that an alliance has plunged into such open chaos over seat allocations, threatening to fracture the grand anti-BJP front just as the campaign heats up. The move comes against a backdrop of escalating tensions, with local Congress leaders blindsided by the All India Congress Committee (AICC)'s abrupt takeover of talks after Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) functionaries repeatedly failed to seal a deal. "The AICC stepped in because our state unit couldn't navigate the RJD's intransigence," a senior party source confided, speaking on condition of anonymity. Bihar Congress stalwarts had pinned hopes on contesting at least 61 seats - an ambitious tally that includes the 70 they fought in 2020, where they secured a respectable 19 victories and dented the NDA's dominance in several pockets. High-stakes parleys continue at the AICC headquarters in Delhi, with party insiders optimistic about clinching Maharajganj, Jale and Narkatiaganj - hotly contested seats in the first phase. The Congress party has chosen the constituencies, with their mix of rural voters and migrant labour influences, where it has performed creditably in 2020 assembly polls. However, the RJD remains adamant, staking claims not only on these but also on its traditional bastion of Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district, a later-phase seat rich in Yadav-Muslim demographics. "We've waited long enough; these are our seats by right," an RJD spokesperson shot back, hinting at retaliatory candidate announcements if concessions aren't made. The Congress list, announced by AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, focuses on first-phase battlegrounds, blending veterans and fresh faces with a tilt toward Scheduled Caste and Extremely Backward Class representation. The nominee include Jayesh Mangal Singh (Bagaha), Amit Giri (Nautan), Abhishek Ranjan (Chanpatia), Wasi Ahmed (Bettiah), Shyam Bihari Prasad (Raxaul), Shashi Bhushan Rai (Govindganj), Amit Kumar Singh Tunna (Riga), Navin Kumar (Bathnaha - SC), Nalini Ranjan Jha (Benipatti), Subodh Mandal (Phulparas), Manoj Vishwas (Forbesganj), Prof Maswar Alam (Bahadurganj), Shakeel Ahmad Khan (Kadwa), Manohar Prasad Singh (Manihari - ST), Punam Paswan (Korha - SC), Sarita Devi (Sonbarsha - SC), Mithilesh Kumar Chaudhary (Benipur), Umesh Ram (Sakra - SC), Bijendra Chaudhary (Muzaffarpur), Om Prakash Garg (Gopalganj), Hari Narain Kushwah (Kuchaikote), Aditya Kumar Raja (Lalganj), Sanjeev Singh (Vaishali), Pratima Kumari (Raja Pakar - SC), Braj Kishore Ravi (Rosera - SC), Shiv Prakash Garib Das (Bachhwara), Amita Bhushan (Begusarai), Chandan Yadav (Khagaria), Mithlesh Kumar Nishad (Beldaur), Ajit Kumar Sharma (Bhagalpur), Lalan Yadav (Sultanganj), Jitendra Singh (Amarpur), Amresh Kumar 'Anish' (Lakhisarai), Trisuldhari Singh (Barbigha), Omair Khan (Bihar Sharif), Kaushlendra Kumar 'Chhote Mukhiya' (Nalanda), Arun Kumar Bind (Harnaut), Indradeep Chandravanshi (Kumhrar), Shashant Shekhar (Patna Sahib), Anil Kumar Singh (Bikram), Sanjay Kumar Tiwari (Buxar), Vishwanath Ram (Rajpur - SC), Mangal Ram (Chenari - SC), Santosh Mishra (Kargahar), Rajesh Ram (Kutumba - SC), Anand Shankar Singh (Aurangabad), Awadhesh Kumar Singh (Wazirganj) and Nitu Kumari (Hisua). The absence of nominees for Maharajganj, Jale and Narkatiaganj suggests unresolved disputes with RJD, which insists on claiming these alongside Kahalgaon. The Congress party's Vijay Shankar Dubey had won Maharajganj seat in 2020. Tensions have also alienated smaller allies like the Left parties, who are frustrated over unmet demands for 15-20 seats. In a major blow, Pasupati Kumar Paras's Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) quit the INDIA bloc Friday, citing "betrayal" in seat-sharing, and allied with AIMIM to contest 20-25 seats in Seemanchal and Magadh. This could split the minority vote, weakening Congress-RJD prospects. As nominations closed at 3 pm, frantic shuttle diplomacy unfolded between Patna and Delhi. With Bihar's 243 seats up for grabs in a high-stakes bipolar contest - NDA eyeing a Nitish Kumar-led redux versus INDIA's bid to reclaim 2015 glory - this intra-alliance implosion risks handing the BJP-JD(U) a free pass. "Unity is our only weapon; discord is Nitish's delight," quipped a beleaguered Congress observer. For now, the bloc's fate hangs by a thread, as voters watch the opposition devour itself on the eve of battle....