Updated: October 5, 2020 7:13:13 am
The first sign of LJP unrest came earlier this year when Chirag Paswan launched his “Bihar First, Bihari First” yatra with a veiled attack on the Nitish Kumar government. (File photo)
Hitting Nitish Kumar while exiting the NDA alliance in Bihar and still praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, the The Lok Janshakti Party has sent two key signals On the final countdown to the Assembly elections – he’s feeling anti-incumbent against Nitish and helping the BJP to take advantage of that to run for the biggest party seat.
Both the JD (U) and the BJP downplayed the exit, but the sequence of events shows that the BJP has looked the other way as the LJP campaigned to pull the JD (U) down a notch. Even if this means giving the Opposition ammunition to attack the Chief Minister.
Not once has LJP’s Chirag Paswan blamed the BJP for not offering him the “desired number of seats”.
Read also | Bihar elections: after tough negotiation, BJP, JD (U) can contest the same number of seats
The LJP, which won only two seats in the House of 243 in the 2015 Assembly elections and obtained 4.83 percent of the votes, won all six seats it contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections; this was seen as the Modi factor in action.
By contending for 143 seats this time, he hopes to help BJP by slashing JD (U) votes and rebuilding its organizational structure with a view to the future.
One LJP leader said the best scenario for the party is to win “even 10-15 seats” using the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and working with the BJP to become its next ally. This, the source said, could become crucial if BJP and JD (U) don’t get a simple majority of 122.
The JD (U), hoping to repeat 2010 – aligned with the BJP it won 206 out of 243 seats – is wary that LJP will hurt its chances by at least a dozen seats. He is also aware that the Opposition alliance led by RJD will seize every opportunity to twist the knife by playing this LJP “backstabbing” to the hilt.
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The BJP has always been the second party in the alliance – it has 53 seats in the outgoing House compared to 69 for JD (U) – and many in the party hope that the departure of LJP can help it win over its ally.
However, not many are surprised here.
The first sign of LJP’s unrest came earlier this year when Chirag launched his “Bihar First, Bihari First” yatra with a veiled attack on the Nitish Kumar government: he underscored his identity as “Yuva Bihari” to contrast with what He indicated it was the tired old leadership (read Nitish).
At the time, he had told The Indian Express: “When something as basic as Dial100 (a number to seek police help) does not work in the state, what is the meaning of good government?”
Read also | Bihar Oppn Alliance Announces Shared Seating, VIP Minor Ally ‘Resigns’ in Outburst
The LJP’s plan to contest 143 seats includes running a candidate for each seat contested by JD (U). She has not decided what to do in the seats where the BJP is played. When asked about it, party spokesman Ashraf Ansari said: “There are several seats where the margin of victory is between 5,000 and 10,000. This is where we can hurt JD (U) ‘s chances and we can win a good number in a three way fight.
When asked about LJP’s departure, BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash said: “It would not be appropriate for us to comment on the LJP’s decision. We will go to elections in the name of development in the last 15 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Nitish Kumar with the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ”.
The JD (U) put on a brave face. Acting State President Ashok Kumar Choudhary said: “LJP’s departure from the NDA alliance will have no impact. But I want to know what ideological differences LJP has with us. We have increased the budget for the Dalit welfare collector. It is the same LJP who insisted that Nitish Kumar campaign for his candidates in the latest Lok Sabha polls. “
However, some JD (U) leaders said that the LJP could adopt its previous strategy of presenting upper caste candidates where “we would have OBC or EBC candidates.
Read also | Bihar 2020 elections: Congress, left pushed for tough negotiation, RJD looked to social engineering
In fact, LJP had done so successfully in the February 2005 elections in which it had won 29 seats, said a party leader. Of the 178 seats it contested in those elections, LJP obtained 13.62% of the votes.
In the October 2005 Assembly elections, he won 10 seats out of the 203 he challenged and obtained 11.10 percent of the votes. In the 2010 Assembly polls (on the Grand Alliance), she won three seats out of 75 contested and got 6.74 percent of the vote.
These numbers are small and LJP leaders said they are looking long term. The party believes that this is the last state election of the previous generation of Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar and even Sushil Kumar Modi.
With RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad facing his litmus test this time around and Kanhaiya Kumar unclear on his role, Chirag, sources said, sees his chance to emerge as a leader of Bihar. For that, you may have to live in the shadow of BJP for a while, and this exit could be an important first step on that long road.
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