PATNA, Sept. 11 -- The seat-sharing in the INDIA bloc seems inching towards a final formula, with insiders pointing that bigger partners -- RJD and Congress -- may surrender 14 and 10 seats from their "kitty" to assuage smaller alliance partners. The arrangement will mean that RJD and Congress will have a depleted number of seats from their 2020 allotment of 144 and 70 respectively. Even Left parties, according to people in the know of development, will have to settle for a lesser number of seats, meaning that the seat-sharing deal will be a tad more trickier than it seems . Officially though, there is no announcement from the Opposition alliance about the seat-sharing deal. But, people close to INDIA bloc leaders say that it is likely by September 15. "The 24-seat (14+10) kitty would serve as a cushion to work out an amicable seat-sharing deal among all partners in the INDIA bloc, especially by taking Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) and Left parties on board. There is largely a consensus on this formula and seat-to-seat allotment would be done with consultation with all allies," said a RJD functionary, in the know of the development. The left-out 24 seats will go to allies like VIP led by former minister Mukesh Sahani and other outfits like Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) led by former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, who has shown keenness to join the bloc. One other outfit, IIP led by IP Gupta, is also said to be keen about joining the bloc and may get some seats as well. In that scenario, the proposed seat-sharing arrangement would give the RJD to contest 132 seats, Congress 60 seats while VIP would get 16-18 seats. Other smaller allies like RLJP may get three to four seats and JMM two to three seats. The Left parties, including the CPI-ML, CPI and CPM may then have to be accommodated in the remaining 26 seats. In the 2020 polls, the Left parties had contested 29 seats of which the ML itself had contested 19 seats and had won 12 seats, the best ever performance of the party in the last many decades. "Yes, the seat-sharing deal would be in that formula more or less. There could be some minor alteration depending on conditions set by some allies," said a state Congress leader, seeking anonymity. Top GA leaders of the Congress and RJD, however, agreed there are certain "challenges" in stitching an amicable seat-sharing deal but they said that allies would be "accommodative" to achieve a deal eventually. In the 2020 polls, the GA had fought with only five allies with RJD, Congress and three Left parties. The VIP led by Sahani had ended ties on the day the seat-sharing deal was announced before the polls in protest against being allotted only one seat as against the promise of over 30 seats. "In the INDIA bloc, we have now 8 allies and there are possibilities of some more parties joining in. In that scenario, we have to make a balancing act. The two main partners are already in the mood for sacrificing their seats. There is a consensus that this time allies would not have disputes on getting a higher number of seats but want to contest for higher winnability with good candidates. So, there are chances, a seat sharing deal would happen amicably," said a RJD functionary, in the know of the matter. The big question is whether all allies, especially Left parties, would come on board to accept the proposed deal? Insiders in GA said that the Left parties, especially the ML this time, is not in mood to play second fiddle by being insistent that it should get 30 seats or more based on its high strike rate in 2020 polls and 2024 parliamentary polls. The ML has given a list of 40 seats and wants at least 30 seats to be allotted to the party this time. "We are the only party which has a traditional support base among the deprived and marginalised classes mainly of Dalits, EBCs and OBCs. We helped all allies in vote transfer and results have shown how the INDIA bloc won a good number of seats both in 2020 and 24 general polls in Rohtas and central Bihar where we have a big base. If we do not get more seats than in 2020, it would be disappointing. But we are hopeful of getting a good deal," said a senior ML leader. VIP's Dev Jyoti, however, said a seat-sharing deal would be announced soon and that his party is hopeful of a respectable allotment. "We are hopeful of getting a respectable seat-sharing deal," he said. The VIP has sought 60 seats. Incidentally, Congress top leaders, including AICC in-charge, Bihar, Krishna Allwaru, on Tuesday night said that a seat-sharing arrangement in INDIA bloc would be finalised soon. " We will have a seat-sharing arrangement soon and talks are going on positively," said Allawaru in New Delhi. A meeting of the coordination committee of INDIA bloc in Bihar is scheduled on September 15 in Patna. The seat-sharing could be announced that day, political observers hope. In 2020 state polls, the GA had won 110 seats of which RJD had won 75 seats, Congress 19 seats, CPI and CPM two seats each while CPI-ML (liberation) had won 12 seats....