NEW DELHI / PATNA: Citing ideological differences with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, LJP left the NDA in Bihar on Sunday, clearing the way for JD (U) and BJP to distribute the 243 seats for the upcoming state elections.
The Dalit team’s decision caused few surprises because it had already severed ties with JD (U), making its presence in the Bihar alliance untenable.
Although party chief Chirag Paswan constantly strove to emphasize his faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP, who has already declared Nitish his choice of CM, found it impossible to meet his demand for 30 seats solely at his expense.
In his parting statement on Sunday, Chirag directed his firepower at Nitish, emphasizing once again LJP’s “strong ties” to BJP and that he would remain part of the NDA nationwide.
“There is no bitterness between LJP and BJP. After the survey results, all the winning LJP candidates will join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development model and form the BJP-LJP government. LJP believes that there should be a BJP-led government in Bihar, ”the party said in a statement.
The chairman of the Bihar parliamentary board of LJP and MLA, Raju Tiwari, said: “LJP will accept a prime minister from BJP.” Hours earlier, party sources said they would adopt the Manipur model where the party had gone to the polls alone, but after the results, it supported the BJP to form a government there.
However, JD (U) may ask BJP to consider removing LJP from the alliance at the national level, saying that its presence at any level will send the wrong signal among the electorate.
“Winning Bihar is politically crucial not only for JD (U) but also for BJP, which has lost 11 assembly votes since 2014. It cannot happen that LJP remains part of the alliance at any level,” said an official from JD ( OR). .
If pursued, the lawsuit may put the BJP in a quandary due to its need, especially at this juncture, for a Dalit ally.
In the short term, LJPs are likely to exist to clear the way for a 50:50 seat split between JD (U) and BJP, but it also has the potential to inject new complexity into the power sharing dynamics between the two. . Based on the understanding that the two sides had reached, JD (U) is expected to compete 122 seats, leaving the remainder 121 for BJP.
However, there are indications to suggest that JD (U) agreed with the partner parity suggestion on the assumption that BJP’s actual share would drop to 100 because it would have had to leave a seat score for LJP, a scenario They have left no ambiguity as to who is the older brother of the alliance. However, in the change of situation, it is BJP who may end up contesting more seats than JD (U), considering that Nitish Kumar has to accommodate 6-7 candidates belonging to the HAM headed by former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi.
Nitish separated Manjhi, a Dalit, from the rival RJD-led alliance in order to protect himself against any adverse consequences of the Chirag dispute.
Many in JD (U) seem uneasy at the prospect of having to settle for 115-116 seats. Nitish has strengthened his status as “first” in NDA by getting the BJP to award more seats. His experience during the unfortunate association with Lalu Prasad in 2015-2016 when the RJD boss took advantage of his superior numbers to play boss, would only have reinforced his belief in strategic wisdom to maintain an advantage.
It just so happens that BJP in 2010 surprised him, even himself, with a significantly better hit rate than JD (U). JD (U) managers should be wary of the possibility of a repeat due to Modi’s popularity, as well as Chirag’s decision to target JD (U) candidates.
LJP is seething with resentment against Bihar CM and will attempt to mobilize Paswans, a politically conscious community that has a good presence in many constituencies, against JD (U). Although not entirely a monolithic bloc, most Paswans follow the example of the LJP founder, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
His strategy is summed up in the motto “Modi se koi bair nahin, Nitish Tumhari Khair Nahin” (We have no hard feelings against Modi, but we will certainly teach Nitish a lesson), which is already being raised by the faithful.
That explains the suggestion, made by certain quarters at JD (U) on Sunday night, that BJP should give up at least 7 more seats to JD (U) so that the latter could accommodate Manjhi.
Sources from JD (U), however, agreed that their alliance with the BJP is sealed and the party will not seek any change in the agreed arrangements.
In any case, the BJP was not likely to agree to alter any changes to the seat allocation formula, considering that former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is in charge of election preparations, and the party’s general secretary They, Bhupender Yadav, firmly rejected JD (U’s insistence) in sacrificing “saffron quota” seats for 5 seated RJD MLAs who had recently crossed.
Although nearly all members of the LJP’s central parliamentary board said they were in favor of the party running for 143 seats, the decision will be made by Chirag.
The Dalit team’s decision caused few surprises because it had already severed ties with JD (U), making its presence in the Bihar alliance untenable.
Although party chief Chirag Paswan constantly strove to emphasize his faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP, who has already declared Nitish his choice of CM, found it impossible to meet his demand for 30 seats solely at his expense.
In his parting statement on Sunday, Chirag directed his firepower at Nitish, emphasizing once again LJP’s “strong ties” to BJP and that he would remain part of the NDA nationwide.
“There is no bitterness between LJP and BJP. After the survey results, all the winning LJP candidates will join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development model and form the BJP-LJP government. LJP believes that there should be a BJP-led government in Bihar, ”the party said in a statement.
The chairman of the Bihar parliamentary board of LJP and MLA, Raju Tiwari, said: “LJP will accept a prime minister from BJP.” Hours earlier, party sources said they would adopt the Manipur model where the party had gone to the polls alone, but after the results, it supported the BJP to form a government there.
However, JD (U) may ask BJP to consider removing LJP from the alliance at the national level, saying that its presence at any level will send the wrong signal among the electorate.
“Winning Bihar is politically crucial not only for JD (U) but also for BJP, which has lost 11 assembly votes since 2014. It cannot happen that LJP remains part of the alliance at any level,” said an official from JD ( OR). .
If pursued, the lawsuit may put the BJP in a quandary due to its need, especially at this juncture, for a Dalit ally.
In the short term, LJPs are likely to exist to clear the way for a 50:50 seat split between JD (U) and BJP, but it also has the potential to inject new complexity into the power sharing dynamics between the two. . Based on the understanding that the two sides had reached, JD (U) is expected to compete 122 seats, leaving the remainder 121 for BJP.
However, there are indications to suggest that JD (U) agreed with the partner parity suggestion on the assumption that BJP’s actual share would drop to 100 because it would have had to leave a seat score for LJP, a scenario They have left no ambiguity as to who is the older brother of the alliance. However, in the change of situation, it is BJP who may end up contesting more seats than JD (U), considering that Nitish Kumar has to accommodate 6-7 candidates belonging to the HAM headed by former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi.
Nitish separated Manjhi, a Dalit, from the rival RJD-led alliance in order to protect himself against any adverse consequences of the Chirag dispute.
Many in JD (U) seem uneasy at the prospect of having to settle for 115-116 seats. Nitish has strengthened his status as “first” in NDA by getting the BJP to award more seats. His experience during the unfortunate association with Lalu Prasad in 2015-2016 when the RJD boss took advantage of his superior numbers to play boss, would only have reinforced his belief in strategic wisdom to maintain an advantage.
It just so happens that BJP in 2010 surprised him, even himself, with a significantly better hit rate than JD (U). JD (U) managers should be wary of the possibility of a repeat due to Modi’s popularity, as well as Chirag’s decision to target JD (U) candidates.
LJP is seething with resentment against Bihar CM and will attempt to mobilize Paswans, a politically conscious community that has a good presence in many constituencies, against JD (U). Although not entirely a monolithic bloc, most Paswans follow the example of the LJP founder, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
His strategy is summed up in the motto “Modi se koi bair nahin, Nitish Tumhari Khair Nahin” (We have no hard feelings against Modi, but we will certainly teach Nitish a lesson), which is already being raised by the faithful.
That explains the suggestion, made by certain quarters at JD (U) on Sunday night, that BJP should give up at least 7 more seats to JD (U) so that the latter could accommodate Manjhi.
Sources from JD (U), however, agreed that their alliance with the BJP is sealed and the party will not seek any change in the agreed arrangements.
In any case, the BJP was not likely to agree to alter any changes to the seat allocation formula, considering that former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is in charge of election preparations, and the party’s general secretary They, Bhupender Yadav, firmly rejected JD (U’s insistence) in sacrificing “saffron quota” seats for 5 seated RJD MLAs who had recently crossed.
Although nearly all members of the LJP’s central parliamentary board said they were in favor of the party running for 143 seats, the decision will be made by Chirag.
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