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LJP talks tough before polls, NDA ties come under strain
According to people familiar with the happenings at the meeting, the party’s state parliamentary board has authorized its chief Chirag Paswan to take a call on whether LJP will be part of the NDA for the upcoming assembly polls.
The Lok Janshakti Party, a constituent of the Bharatiya Janata party-led National Democratic Alliance, continued to talk tough ahead of the Bihar assembly elections scheduled to be held in October-November at its Bihar state parliamentary board meeting on Monday.
According to people familiar with the happenings at the meeting, the party’s state parliamentary board has authorized its chief Chirag Paswan to take a call on whether LJP will be part of the NDA for the upcoming assembly polls. The party’s Central parliamentary board is expected to meet next week to take a decision on the matter said persons aware of the developments.
The Janata Dal United is also part of the alliance and in recent months Paswan has been critical of its leader and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar.
The state parliamentary board also decided to send a list of 143 candidates to the central parliamentary board said Raju Tiwari, president of the Bihar state parliamentary board.
As per functionaries aware of the details, the board asked Paswan to consider breaking away from the NDA, pointing out that there is a strong anti incumbency factor against the current dispensation of which the LJP is a part.
“There is lot of anger against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (of the Janata Dal, United) and the board authorised party chief, Chirag Paswan to take all decisions regarding the polls. It was however, pointed out to him that there is a lot of anger against his government and the allies too would face consequences if they go into polls under his leadership,” said a functionary.
Political analysts said the move could be aimed at exerting more pressure on the JD-U, which has partnered with former Bihar CM and HAM-S chief Jitan Ram Manjhi in an attempt to woo Dalit voters, the traditional base of the LJP.
“ Senior BJP leaders such as RK Singh and Sanjay Paswan have categorically said that while the BJP is capable of winning on its own, it respects its allies. For BJP, both JD-U and LJP are allies, but JD-U and the LJP don’t see each other as allies. So, it is a ticklish thing for the BJP to handle,” said former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Sciences, DM Diwakar.
Though the election commission is yet to announce the schedule of polling in Bihar, the election is expected to take place in October-November as a new assembly has to be elected before November 26.
While the BJP refrained from commenting on LJP’s stance; it has been asserting that the differences between allies will be sorted once formal talks begin. Party president JP Nadda in his address last month said the BJP workers will have to ensure the victory of all contestants from the NDA stable and reiterated that the BJP, JDU and LJP coalition is a winning combination.
Another analyst, PK Dutta said the acrimonious statements by LJP leaders are not “serious at the moment”. “It seems to be just a bargaining tool for more seats. We may just have to wait and watch, but for now it does not seem extremely serious,” he said.
In the 2015 assembly elections, when JD-U was part of the Grand Alliance (GA) of parties opposed to the BJP, the LJP contested 42 seats and could win just two.
However, its strike rate has been very good in the Lok Sabha elections. At present, it has six MPs in the Lok Sabha. It contested on as many seats.
Based on its Lok Sabha performance the LJP is seeking a seat sharing formula that will take into account the party’s performance in the last general election.
In Bihar, the JD-U has already steered clear of LJP due to Paswan’s recent attacks on Nitish Kumar .
The LJP has also criticised the holding of elections itself , asserting that the timing of the election is not right and that the parties should not have to focus on electoral politics at a time when the state is battling the twin challenges of COVID-19 and floods.
“We have been urging the allies to reconsider the timing of the election. There is so much anger on the ground that seats where the margins are low; the prospects of the opposition doing well is stronger,” said a party functionary who asked not to be named.
The central leadership of BJP and LJP are expected to meet next week to iron out differences said a person aware of the details.
