Chirag Paswan Asserts NDA Support, Tells LJP Leaders He’s ‘Not Engaged In Hard Bargaining’

Chirag Paswan Asserts NDA Support, Tells LJP Leaders He’s ‘Not Engaged In Hard Bargaining’

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJP) party chief Chirag Paswan on Saturday night told party members that they stand firmly with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and urged them to work to strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hand to ensure the welfare of Bihar.

“We stand firmly with the NDA. (There is need to) strengthen Prime Minister Modi's hands for Bihar's welfare," Paswan told cadres, according to sources who spoke to CNN-News18.

The party held a central parliamentary board meeting, chaired by Chirag Paswan, in New Delhi, where seat-sharing was also discussed.

The two-phase Bihar Assembly elections are set to be held in November, and the NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) along with the BJP, LJP, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM), will face a challenge from Tejashwi Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Indian National Congress.

Seat-sharing talks are underway in both coalition camps, and the Delhi meeting of the LJP cadres also reflected on the same.

Paswan told party members that the LJP is not engaged in hard bargaining for seats.

This is a different approach from its coalition partner HAM, which has demanded 15 seats and threatened to exit the alliance if its demands are not met. RLM chief and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha also dismissed media reports about a “consensus" on seat-sharing in the NDA for the Bihar polls as “incorrect."

Chirag also reminded those present that under his father, Ram Vilas Paswan's leadership, the party had 29 MLAs and had delivered its best-ever performance in Bihar polls.

However, he highlighted that the LJP, with its main ethos centered around Dalit empowerment, social justice, and representing marginalized communities, remains strong and influential.

He outlined that the party should therefore seek the maximum possible seats to help boost the NDA's overall tally.

Sources told CNN-News18 that Chirag Paswan urged leaders to actively participate in campaigning and all poll-related activities, and directed that requests for all star campaigners be made for LJP candidates.

Sources also said that Paswan, who is the party's National President, will take the final decision on seat-sharing, and the talks are still ongoing.

“I have nothing to say now. All seat-sharing-related announcements will be made later," Paswan said in a brief remark to reporters ahead of the meeting.

The first phase of polling will take place on November 6, and the second phase will occur on November 11. The counting of votes is scheduled for November 14.

Source: News18
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