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BJP wins in Hajipur as party bets on ally Chirag Paswan’s stronghold in Bihar elections 2025
BJP's Awadhesh Singh contested against RJD's Dev Kumar Chaurasia, marking a shift in the political landscape as Chirag Paswan's LJP was not allocated this seat.
Despite being the traditional stronghold of Ram Vilas Paswan’s family, Bihar’s Hajipur seat didn't have any candidate from the late leader’s party in the 2025 Assembly elections. Instead, the BJP fielded a candidate on the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) bastion, as Chirag Paswan is part of the ruling NDA alliance in Bihar.
The BJP had fielded leader Awadhesh Singh from Hajipur, who won against Mahagathbandhan candidate and RJD leader Dev Kumar Chaurasia. According to the Election Commission, Awadhesh Singh won the election with a total of 1,13,221 votes, achieving a lead of 18,509 votes.
Although the Chirag Paswan-led LJP secured 29 seats under the NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement, Hajipur was notably not among them. This is particularly significant, as Chirag Paswan had won the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat in last year’s general elections by a commanding margin of 1,70,105 votes.
While Hajipur Lok Sabha constituency may be a stronghold of Ram Vilas Paswan's family, the Vidhan Sabha seat has long been held by the BJP. Awadhesh Singh is a sitting MLA from the Vidhan Sabha seat since 2015. He defeated RJD's Chaurasia by a slim margin back in the 2020 Assembly elections, and reportedly won 49% votes in the elections prior to that.
Even before Awadhesh, the Hajipur Assembly constituency was held by the BJP, and before that by Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) for 10 years.
However, the BJP, JD(U) and Chirag Paswan’s LJP are in alliance this time, contesting 101, 101 and 29 seats, respectively. Besides, the Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) or HAM(S) and Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) were allotted six seats each.
Who is Chirag Paswan?
Chirag Paswan is a two-time Lok Sabha MP, and son of late Ram Vilas Paswan, who was a prominent Dalit leader and founder of the Lok Janshakti Party.
He entered politics back in 2014 and won the Lok Sabha elections from the Jamui constituency. He took over reins of the party in 2019 when his father's health deteriorated, and later took charge of LJP (Ram Vilas), a faction formed in 2021 after a fallout with his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras.
Three years later, he won the Lok Sabha elections again, this time from the Hajipur constituency.
LJP (Ram Vilas) seat share in 2025 Bihar elections
The LJP (Ram Vilas) had reportedly asked for 25 or more when the seat-sharing arrangement of the ruling alliance was being worked out, and got 29 when the ruling NDA announced its seat sharing plan for the Bihar Assembly elections 2025.
While the final seat share for Paswan's party may be lower than the BJP and JD(U), it does consist of important seats, for example - Mahua, whose multi-cornered contest also includes Lalu Yadav's son Tej Pratap, and some important seats in the Jamui and Khagaria districts.
Elections to the 243-member Assembly were announced in two phases - November 6 and 11, with results scheduled for November 14.
