Bihar Polls: Chirag Paswan Hopes To Get ‘Quality’ Seats, Calls Nitish Kumar NDA’s ‘Strong Link’ – Delhi News Daily

LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan expressed his intention to contest the Bihar assembly election. (Image: PTI/File)

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan on Tuesday signalled “all is well” in the NDA camp but said that he wants a decent number of seats for the Bihar assembly elections.

Paswan, who targeted the Bihar government, especially Nitish Kumar, over the law and order situation in the past, said that the Janata Dal (U) leader is a “strong link” of the NDA.

“In view of the elections, statements will be made, positions will be taken. But ultimately, winnability must be the top priority,” the Union Minister told India Today, days after NDA ally Jitan Ram Manjhi announced that Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) would contest 100 seats if his party did not get 15 seats in the poll pact.

Paswan did not reveal the NDA’s seat-sharing formula but said he wants quality seats. “I have a number in mind,” he told NDTV.

He claimed that his party’s influence can affect 20,000 to 25,000 votes in every constituency and said, “I’m like salt on vegetables.”

The LJP leader, a Lok Sabha MP from Bihar’s Jamui, is still contemplating whether he would contest the assembly polls. “The matter is still in the pipeline,” he said.

The Union Minister also dismissed rumours of replacing Nitish Kumar as the next chief minister. My supporters want to see me as CM. But this is very normal… for supporters to dream big for their leaders,” he said.

When asked about his previous comments on Bihar’s law and order situation, Paswan admitted that he was critical of Nitish Kumar’s administration but defended himself, saying this is a way of “giving feedback” to his own government.

In 2020, the LJP contested 135 out of 243 seats in Bihar, but could win just one. But in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the LJP won all five seats it contested and helped Chirag Paswan to become a Cabinet Minister for Food Processing, a portfolio once held by his father late Ramvilas Paswan.