PATNA, Oct. 11 -- Even as the seat-sharing among all major political parties and their alliances continues to stuck and no clarity emerging on the horizon who will contest from where, the party hopping has set in, with RJD turning out to be gainer on Monday with three important catches on Friday. The nomination dates for both the phases of voting also started on Friday and will close on October 20. After former Minister Lakshmenshwar Rai left the JD(U) to join the RJD, former JD(U) MP Santosh Kushwaha, LJP leader Ajay Kushwaha and former MLA Rahul Sharma on Friday followed suit, joining the RJD in the presence of Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. Kushwaha community has been under RJD focus since Lok Sabha election. Santosh Kushwaha, who was MP once on the BJP ticket and twice on the JD(U) ticket, is tipped for the Dhamdaha seat against JD(U) minister Lesi Singh. He was once considered close to chief minister Nitish Kumar. Ajay Kushwaha left NDA constituent LJP and is likely to be fielded from Vaishali, where he finished third last time behind JD-U and the Congress. However, as part of INDIA bloc he is seen as a strong candidate. Former JD(U) MLA from Ghosi seat in Jehanabad Rahul Sharma joining the RJD is also seen as significant. His father Jagdish Sharma represented the seat eight times -- contesting as independent as well as on the tickets of Janata Party, BJP and the JD(U). Another significant joining in the RJD was of Chanakya Prasad Ranjan and of former minister and JD(U)'s Banka MP Girdhar Prasad Yadav. The development is seen important for the RJD ahead of election and points to its endeavour to take Kushwahas and Bhumihars, known for being NDA supporters -- in its fold to present an all-inclusive picture. "We will give respect to all and the party will be strengthened. The people have made up their mind to get rid of the government, as the CM does not appear to be in his senses," he said. Political analysts also say that the development is a setback to the JD(U). "If established leaders leave the party at the crucial juncture, it will hurt any party. RJD seems to be playing its cards well to get the social equation right," said social analyst Prof DM Diwakar. In June this year, former minister and Lok Sabha member Renu Kushwaha had also joined the RJD. Once considered close to chief minister Nitish Kumar and part of his cabinet, she had joined the LJP in 2019 after leaving the BJP. Earlier this month, Parbatta MLA Sanjeev Kumar also left JD-U to join the RJD. Former MLA Bogo Singh, known for his muscle power and influence in Matihani constituency in Begusarai, recently joined the RJD and is planning to retain the seat he lost to LJP's Rajkumar Singh in 2020. RJD MLA form Bhabua, Bharat Bind in tipped to go in the BJP fold, as he resigned from the Vidhan Sabha on Thursday. He is tipped to fight from the same seat on the BJP ticket and he has already expressed his mind to media. He had given indications of the affinity for the NDA during trust vote in 2024 by voting in favour. RJD MLA from Mohaniya Sangeeta Kumari also tendered her resignation to the Vidhan Sabha and is set for BJP ticket. Former MP Ajay Nishad also joined BJP late evening with his wife Rama Nishad. In the last Lok Sabha election, he had contested on the Congress ticket. Former Bihar Congress president Ashok Ram had also left the party and joined the JD(U) in August and is seen as a potential candidate from Kusheshwarsthan seat in Darbhanga. He is also six-time MLA and an influential Dalit face in the region. Congress legislator from reserved Chennai seat Murari Prasad Gautam also resigned as an MLA. He had also started sitting with the treasury benches in the Bihar Assembly after the JD(U) returned to the NDA fold and faced disqualification prospect, but that never happened. But then, party hopping is nothing uncommon to Bihar politics, as the list of such leaders is long cutting across party lines. Be it Nitish Kumar, Upendra Kushwaha, Pappu Yadav, RCP Singh or many others, politics is quite familiar with this trend and it was evident even ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Bihar. "The practice of party hopping is neither new nor it will ever end, as this is what opportunistic politics is all about. The space is created for this, though it does not always work the intended way. During the 2020 Assembly polls, the LJP had opened its gates for candidates from all parties, particularly the BJP. This is a trend, though not healthy for democracy due to dwindling influence of parties, candidates and ideologies," said social analyst Prof NK Choudhary....