Lok Janshakti Party Preparing To Go Solo In Bihar Polls: Chirag Paswan

Lok Janshakti Party, an ally the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, is preparing to go solo in the forthcoming Bihar Assembly elections as no seat-sharing formula has been finalised yet, party chief Chirag Paswan said on Saturday. Paswan, however, clarified that Janata Dal United chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is the leader of the NDA in Bihar and the election will be fought under his leadership in the state.

Paswan, the Lok Sabha member from Jamui, said any decision on sharing the seats would be taken according to the situation. The LJP party is making preparations for all 243 constituencies, he added. BJP, JDU, and LJP are the constituents of NDA in Bihar.

The Bihar Assembly election is expected to be held in October-November. Paswan, who was last year appointed as party chief, had earlier decided to go solo in Jharkhand Assembly elections in 2019.

LJP had contested 50 seats in the Jharkhand assembly elections on its own after his efforts to ally with the BJP, its senior partner in Bihar, went in vain.

Though the LJP was keen for an alliance with the BJP, the saffron party was reluctant as its leaders believed that the regional party did not have much to offer electorally in the state. The BJP and the LJP are allies in neighbouring Bihar.

On the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Paswan said his party is with the central government on the issue and charged the opposition of spreading rumour on the issue.