New Delhi: In Bihar, the seat-sharing deal between grand alliance members has been "almost finalised" and the Congress is likely to contest from 11 seats in the state, sources said. Intensive negotiations were held among grand alliance constituents here as top leaders of the formation sought to settle the issue of seat-sharing for the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

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A senior Congress leader said on condition of anonymity "The seat-sharing deal has been almost finalised. The RJD has agreed on 11 seats for the Congress,". All parties in the grand alliance will be given full respect and the decision would be announced in the next few days, the leader said. The Lalu Yadav-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will get the lion's share of seats (about 20), sources said.

It is to be noted that the general election is scheduled to begin on April 11 and will continue till May 19. Polling on the different seats will be held in Bihar in seven phases. The 'Mahagathbandhan', as the grand alliance is called, comprises old allies like the Congress and RJD, besides new entrants such as Upendra Kushwaha's RLSP, Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha, Sharad Yadav's Loktantrik Janata Dal and the Vikashsheel Insaan Party (VIP), a fledgling outfit floated by former Bollywood set designer Mukesh Sahni.

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However, to be noted that the RJD had contested from 27 seats in the 2014 general elections, though it managed to win only four. After all of this it becomes important to get noticed that intensive negotiations were held among grand alliance constituents here as top leaders of the formation sought to settle the issue of seat-sharing for the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state.