LJP (RV) Bihar election 2025

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas)

Founded in:2000 (as undivided LJP)
Founders/first leaders:Ram Vilas Paswan
Main leaders:Chirag Paswan
Alliance:NDA
Description:Ram Vilas Paswan broke away from the Janata Dal and formed the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) on November 28 , 2000. The stated objective of the party is to work towards social justice for Dalits, and other backward and deprived classes. Ram Vilas Paswan was considered among the most prominent leaders in Dalit politics. One of its popular slogans has been: "Uss ghar mein diya jalaana hai, sadi se jahaan andhera hai (We will bring light to that home too, where darkness has lives for a century now)." Pawan's LJP made its presence felt in central politics too. The party's core vote bank has mainly been the Dusadh caste, but due to the popularity of Ram Vilas Paswan the party also got support in other sections. After the death of Ram Vilas Paswan, there was a dispute over the leadership in the party. In 2021, the LJP split into two factions — one became Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) led by his son Chirag Paswan, and the other became Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) led by his brother Pashupati Kumar Paras. LJP (Ram Vilas) led by Chirag Paswan is more prominent in Bihar and is part of the BJP-led NDA this time. In the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, the then undivided party contested on its own, and won only one seat. But its vote share in the state was 5.66%, which showed its grassroots relevance. Chirag Paswan, who became an minister in Modi's third term, has focused on youth votes beyond caste lines too.