Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan with LJP(Paswan) MP Chirag Paswan
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Just days ahead of the filing of nominations for the first phase of Bihar polls begins, NDA partners have begun to firm up seat-sharing arrangements. Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan met BJP’s Bihar in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday to discuss seat allocation for the NDA constituent.
BJP Bihar election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan and the party’s national general secretary Vinod Tawde held a meeting with Paswan, who is the Union minister for Consumer Affairs, in New Delhi to discuss his demands.
Paswan, who will be fighting his first assembly elections as part of the NDA, has reportedly demanded 40 seats in the 235-member assembly, while the BJP is keen on only 15 seats. He said that it does not make sense for other constituents of the NDA that the BJP and the JD(U) will contest on 100 seats each, leaving 35 for the other partners including Vikassheel Insaan Party, Hindustani Awam Morcha, and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, besides LJP.
Paswan, who has let known his displeasure, had earlier met BJP’s Bihar in-charge president JP Nadda during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The LJP had contested assembly elections in Bihar in 2020 alone across 143 seats, winning only one, but heavily damaging the prospects of Nitish Kumar’s JDU. Chirag then broke away from the LJP and formed the LJP (Ram Vilas) faction which contested Lok Sabha elections in five seats in 2024.
Sources in the BJP said that Paswan has demanded two seats in each of the Parliamentary segments where his party had won in the 2024 Lok Sabha. Additionally, he has also asked for two specific seats – Brahmpur and Govindganj – for two key aides of his party. Brahmpur had been given to VIP in the last elections, but the LJP candidate had performed better. Paswan has also focussed on his faction’s stellar performance in the Lok Sabha – they won all the five seats they contested.
Seat distribution discussions with the BJP are set to be held by the end of the week, with nominations starting from October 10. The Jitan Manjhi-led HAM and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSP have both demanded 15-20 seats each. BJP, however, is likely to drive a hard bargain of less than 10, said sources. The BJP is also likely to give Chirag’s party more than HAM and RLSP, indicated sources.
Paswan, who has been blowing hot and cold with the BJP, had also indicated that he is open to joining Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party if the need arises.