LJP to contest against BJP in J&K polls

The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) is set to contest against its national ally BJP in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls.

LJP president and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters here that his party would contest the coming Assembly elections independently and might fight against its ally BJP. “The final call over the issue will be taken by the parliamentary board of the party after thorough deliberations,” he said.

Paswan, who is Food Minister in the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, said his party’s alliance with the BJP was at the Centre and not at the state-level. “Even when we were with the Congress (as part of the UPA), the LJP had fought state elections on its own,” he said.

“I came to Jammu and Kashmir for an assessment ahead of the polls. We held a series of meetings within the party and a majority of the leaders wanted the party to contest the polls alone,” Paswan added.