PATNA, July 4 -- The INDIA bloc had finalised the seat sharing arrangement amicably to start preparations early and only a formal announcement was to be made, said a senior party leader familiar with the matter. "The seat-sharing arrangement is known to the constituents of the Opposition alliance and there is no issue on it, with the main party, the RJD, ready to make sacrifice by contesting fewer seats than the previous 2020 election to give space to alliance partners," he added. The Congress will contest fewer seats too. "The focus is on maintaining cohesion and ensuring winnability. Each seat has been mapped based on ground surveys to facilitate unanimous decisions," he added. The three Left parties - could get a bit more than the previous election, but less than what they wanted. "The seats of the RJD and Congress would come down to accommodate the Vikashshel Inshaan Party (VIP) of Mukesh Sahni, which will get more seats than what it had got in 2020 as part of the NDA. There is firm belief within INDIA bloc that no alliance partner should drift feeling second level," said the leader. During the 2020 Assembly polls, RJD was the single largest party winning 75 seats, while the Congress and the Left had won 19 and 16 respectively. VIP had won four, but all its legislators had switched over to BJP later. Though Sahni is said to have bargained hard for a better deal, the INDIA bloc has also yielded due to the potential of close fight. Last time, there was a vote difference of just 0.3% between the NDA and INDIA. bloc. With 37.9% vote share, NDA had got 125 seats, while the GA got 110 seats with 37.6% vote share. In terms of strike rate, CPI-ML had the highest of 63.15%, as it won 12 of the 19 seats it contested, followed by RJD, which won 75 of the 148 seats it contested for a strike rate of 52.08%. Congress had the lowest strike rate of 27.15%, winning 19 of the 70 seats it fought. CPI-M won two of the four seats to have a strike rate of 50%, while CPI recorded 33.33% strike rate winning two of six seats it fought. Social analyst NK Choudhary said the 2025 election could be a repeat of 2020, with very little room for error. "That is what will keep both the alliances on tenterhooks. INDIA bloc knows the value of each vote after getting so near last time. It is treading cautiously, but the fight again will be intense," he added. RJD spokesman Mrityunjay Tiwari said the mood in the state had boosted confidence of party workers. "The mood is for change and that will happen," he said, adding preparations were underway for joint and vigorous campaigning hammering the core public issues and exposing failures of NDA. The joint manifesto of the INDIA bloc, being given final shape, would focus on welfare measures as well as issues like employment, corruption and the public pain due to land survey....