A day after Chirag Paswan, leader of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram-Vilas), finalised a seat-sharing arrangement with the BJP — which reportedly includes the coveted Hajipur seat once held by his father, the late Ram Vilas Paswan — the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, led by his estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, who is the current Hajipur MP, indicated that it will stay within the NDA as well.
RLJP State president and Samastipur MP Prince Raj posted on X on Thursday, saying that the RLJP is an integral part of the NDA, asserting that the party considered Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decisions above everything else
On Wednesday, Mr. Paswan had posted a picture of his meeting with BJP president J.P. Nadda on social media, asserting that seat sharing had been finalised. This also implied that a truce has been reached between the two parties created by the LJP’s split after the senior Paswan’s demise, ending the long feud between uncle and nephew. According to sources, the BJP has agreed to give five Bihar Lok Sabha seats to Mr. Paswan, including the Hajipur seat.
Staying within the NDA
Sources said that Mr. Raj has been offered a ministerial berth in the cabinet of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, while Mr. Paras may be accommodated as a Governor or Rajya Sabha MP.
“Our party is an integral part of the NDA. Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji is the leader of the country as well as ours and his decision is above everything for us,” Mr. Raj wrote, tagging Mr. Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP State president Samrat Choudhary, and Bihar BJP in-charge and national general secretary Vinod Tawde on his post.
In Delhi, Mr. Paras convened a meeting of RLJP MPs, after which RLJP spokesperson Shravan Kumar said that Mr. Paras had been authorised to take a final decision, asserting that the RLJP is part of the NDA and stands firmly with the Prime Minister, Mr. Shah and Mr. Nadda.
HAMS, RLM to get one seat each
After settling the feud between the two factions of the erstwhile LJP, the BJP is also reaching out to other smaller allies such as the Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha-(Secular), and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), led by former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha. Sources said that the BJP has offered one Lok Sabha seat each to both parties.
Mr. Choudhary, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar met Mr. Manjhi at his official residence on Thursday, after meeting Mr. Kumar. “Amid the Lok Sabha polls, we are speaking to all the political parties. We want to win all 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar,” Mr. Choudhary said after meeting Mr. Manjhi.
Asked about reports that both Mr. Manjhi and Mr. Kushwaha are unhappy with the NDA seat-sharing formula, Mr. Choudhary bypassed the question, merely saying that all is well within the NDA.
Mukesh Sahani, who heads the Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP), is also trying to get one seat in the NDA and has been camping in the national capital for the past week.
Cabinet expansion
Meanwhile, the Bihar Cabinet’s expansion is likely to take place on Friday, March 15.
On January 28, Mr. Kumar took oath for a record ninth time as a Chief Minister of Bihar after snapping ties with the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance), forming a new government with the BJP. Apart from Mr. Kumar, two Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha had taken the oath along with six others as Cabinet Ministers.
Both Deputy Chief Ministers have been allocated nine departments each, and 22 other departments have been distributed among six Cabinet Ministers.
Published - March 14, 2024 11:45 pm IST
