Two months after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar got a major shot in the arm when Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar returned to the bloc, the coalition is bracing for some loss as Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) chief Pashupati Kumar Paras is reportedly unhappy with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The development comes at a time when Chirag Paswan announced the finalization of the seat-sharing agreement with the BJP in Bihar.
“Today our parliamentary board members held a meeting. According to media reports, the NDA has not given due preference to our party in sharing seats in Bihar. Due to this, there is a lot of disappointment among our party workers,” Pashupati Kumar said. Para said.
RLJP's sources reveal that the party is considering the next step and may announce its candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections without consulting the BJP.
The cracks in Bihar's NDA came to the fore after the meeting between BJP chief JP Nadda and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan. The sources revealed that the saffron party has finalized the seat-sharing deal with Chirag Paswan and LJP (Ram Vilas) will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from 5 seats in Bihar.
According to the reports, the final seats are Jamui, Samastipur, Hajipur, Vaishali and Khagaria.
That leaves Pashupati Kumar Paras with nothing, but the sources added that the BJP has offered him the post of Bihar Governor and other influential positions to RLJP leaders. Pashupati Kumar Paras seems disappointed with the arrangement and is mulling over the idea of contesting the general elections alone.
The Hajipur Battle
Pashupati Kumar Paras currently represents Hajipur constituency in Lok Sabha, a seat previously represented by RLJP stalwart late Ram Vilas Paswan. The reports indicate that the differences in the alliance stemmed from the same seat, where Chirag Paswan seems adamant about fighting the Lok Sabha elections from his late father's seat.
“We have not had a discussion with anyone when you talk about the INDIA Alliance. No, never. We have not spoken to anyone… There are five MPs in our party. The NDA Alliance should have been the sitting-getting target “But no justice has been done to our party. Until the list of NDA alliance in Bihar is released, we will wait. I also urge their central leadership to reconsider this… Three MPs from the Paswan community have been denied tickets… This sends a wrong message…,” Pashupati Kumar Paras told news agency ANI.
However, the BJP sounded accommodating on such reports and said everyone will be brought into confidence. “Everyone will be taken into confidence. Efforts are being made. All efforts are being made to take Pashupati Kumar Paras with us. We will be together, with NDA… I think his grudge will go away. We will go ahead and contesting elections together…,” Bihar Minister Prem Kumar said.
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Published: Mar 15, 2024 8:34 PM IST