PATNA / NEW DELHI: The ‘rebel’ of the NDA, LJP, was cornered on Tuesday by JD (U) and BJP with the saffron party saying categorically that those who do not accept the leadership of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for the elections of the assembly are not part of the coalition. He also warned the LJP led by Chirag Paswan against using PM Modi’s name for election campaigns.
“We have made it clear that LJP is outside the alliance in Bihar and that the four parties that are part of the alliance are BJP, JD (U), VIP and HAM,” BJP General Secretary Bhupender told TOI Yadav.
The BJP head of state, Sanjay Jaiswal, spoke just as firmly. “Nitishji is the NDA leader in Bihar and BJP accepts his leadership in Bihar in full. Only those who accept Nitishji’s leadership will remain in the NDA, ”Jaiswal said hours before the joint press. The claim came in the context of a talk in some quarters about a clandestine BJP-LJP agreement to bind JD (U).
“This should silence those who proposed the conspiracy theory in the case of the RJD-Congress-Left combination,” said a senior BJP member who did not want to be quoted. The “theory” was given a boost by statements by LJP chief Chirag Paswan that the BJP and his party would form the next ruling coalition. He repeated the statement again on Tuesday. However, the party recognized LJP as an ally “in the Center” and hinted at the continuation of the ailing LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan in the Union cabinet, a gesture that was seen as motivated by concern for a sick ally. that, as an influential dalit face. , has often been very helpful.
According to the seat-sharing formula, JD (U) will compete in 122 seats and BJP 121 out of a total of 243 seats. JD (U) is expected to drop 7 seats for former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM, while BJP is expected to accommodate the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), an extremely “backward” formation of boatmen and fishermen, in about 10 seats. .
This means that JD (U) disputes 4-5 more seats than the BJP, but the saffron party does not seem to be upset about that because it has managed to reduce the gap with the ‘Big Brother’ in the alliance and also because at least Se you know some of the VIP candidates are saffrons Indeed, it was Union Interior Minister Amit Shah who brought Mukesh Sahni from VIP to his side after he rebelled against the RJD-led team.
At the joint press conference of BJP and JD (U) in Patna to announce the seating arrangement of the two components of the NDA, Nitish refuted Chirag’s accusation of a “crude deal” recalling that JD (U), Together with BJP, he helped Ram Vilas Paswan get a position at RS.
“Ram Vilas Ji is not feeling well. We want him to recover. Did he get to Rajya Sabha (RS) without the help of JD (U)? How many seats do you have at Vidhan Sabha? Two. So BJP-JD (U) gave a ticket to RS. What do we have to do with what someone says? “Nitish said.
His deputy and state BJP leader, Sushil Modi, also addressed the issue, which had emerged as a disturbing concern for the JD (U), of the possibility of LJP soliciting support through the use of images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Any party that is not part of the NDA, but is using the Prime Minister’s photograph for election campaigns, should not do so. If necessary, we will ask the Election Commission to take action against parties using the name of the Prime Minister. Prime Minister in his campaign or for his publicity without being part of NDA, “he said.
The BJP clarification came a day after Chirag declared that the next government in Bihar would be made up of the BJP-LJP combination under the leadership of BJP. Chirag had announced on Sunday that his party will contest the Bihar elections against JD (U) but will support the BJP. He also said that LJP will present candidates in 143 seats, mostly against those disputed by JD (U).
However, the head of the Bihar BJP, Dr. Sanjay Jaiswal, said on Tuesday that the NDA will form the next government in Bihar with a three-quarter majority.
When asked about Paswan as a minister in the NDA government at the Center, Jaiswal said: “He is not feeling well at the moment and we all wish him to make a quick recovery.”
Other BJP officials said categorically that their alliance is with JD (U), not with LJP. “Our alliance is with JD (U) under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. Anyone who does not accept his leadership cannot be part of the NDA,” BJP Secretary General Devesh Kumar told TOI.
The decision to draw a clear line regarding LJP was also due to the recognition that ambiguity about ties to the Dalit team could also harm BJP. “LJP has announced to present candidates in 143 seats. This means that apart from 122 seats contested by JD (U), LJP will present 21 candidates in seats contested by BJP and there are no friendly fights in politics,” said a BJP official. .
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