The INDIA coalition has moved on the political chessboard and given eight Lok Sabha seats in the state and two in Uttar Pradesh to Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chairman Chirag Paswan, according to sources who spoke to news agency, as the NDA struggles with seat-sharing in Bihar.
The idea might be alluring to Mr. Paswan, who is supposedly only receiving six Lok Sabha seats in Bihar from the NDA, and even those come with a catch: the seats would have to be shared with Pashupati Paras, the leader of the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, and his uncle, with whom he is not particularly friendly.
However, the sources added that the INDIA coalition offer contains two more constituencies in Bihar and two in Uttar Pradesh as a deal-sweetener, in addition to all six seats that the fractured Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) had contested in 2019.
A year after party chief and seasoned leader Ram Vilas Paswan passed away, Mr. Paras staged a coup that resulted in the separation of the Lok Janshakti Party in 2021.
Mr. Paswan was Chirag Paswan’s father and Mr. Paras’ brother. Following Mr. Paras’s appointment to the cabinet by the BJP-led NDA, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the Janata Dal United were targeted by Chirag Paswan. He had, however, refrained from targeting the BJP and PM Narendra Modi – whom he had earlier called his Ram and said he was his Hanuman.
Chirag Paswan left the NDA in 2020 due to disagreements with Mr. Kumar; but, he returned to the alliance last year as a member of the Mahagathbandhan, which also includes the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal led by Lalu Yadav. According to reports, since the JDU chairman rejoined the NDA early this year, tensions have been simmering beneath the surface.
Between Mr. Paswan and Mr. Paras, there are disagreements regarding the latter’s Hajipur Lok Sabha seat. Despite Mr. Paras being the current Member of Parliament for the seat, Mr. Paswan has attempted to claim it as his “karmabhoomi” and the old constituency of his late father.
In Bihar in 2019, the BJP and JDU fought for 17 Lok Sabha seats apiece, with the LJP contesting the remaining six seats. With the exception of Kishanganj, which it lost to the Congress, the BJP and the LJP had prevailed in every seat they had challenged.
According to reports, Mr. Paras and Mr. Paswan’s party are eager to replicate the same arrangement, leaving the six seats the LJP had previously fought up for negotiation.
However, 17 seats that would have gone to the JDU have been made available for the Bihar Mahagathbandhan. They now have more leeway to manoeuvre and attempt to contain Mr. Paswan’s group.
The INDIA coalition, which has struggled to finalise seat-sharing in a number of states, including West Bengal and Punjab, will benefit if the plan is successful. Bihar has 40 seats, which makes it the fourth-largest delegation of MPs to the Lok Sabha. The INDIA alliance is hoping to slow down the NDA’s momentum following its 39-1 defeat.
The defeat of the NDA and JDU may also provide a consolation prize for the INDIA bloc, which is still stinging from Mr. Kumar’s recent backstabbing in January.
