New Delhi:
The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) announced on Sunday, after a meeting here in New Delhi, its decision to participate alone in the next elections for the assembly in Bihar.
“Let me enjoy the moment,” said Chirag Paswan, the party’s national chairman in response to a question about whether the LJP has linked up with the BJP.
With a sign of victory after a meeting of the party’s central parliamentary board at his residence in Delhi, he said: “I will not speak any more but we will win the battle.”
“The Lok Janshakti Party will not participate in the upcoming Bihar elections in alliance with Janata Dal (United) due to ideological differences,” said Abdul Khaliq, LJP’s national secretary general.
But the LJP clarified that their differences are with the JDU and not with the BJP. “At the national level and in the Lok Sabha elections, the Lok Janshakti Party shares a strong alliance with the BJP and our candidate will fight in the elections against JDU in some seats,” Khaliq said.
The LJP will present candidates against Nitish Kumar’s JDU, however the party will not present its candidates against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Today’s meeting was scheduled for Saturday, but was postponed after Chirag Paswan’s father, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, was hospitalized and then underwent heart surgery at a Delhi hospital.
Meanwhile, Mr. Chirag had shared his “Bihar First Bihari First”, an LJP vision document on Twitter yesterday. He said the document has been inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought the people of the state to bless him to make Bihar first and restore their pride so that “all my candidates can strengthen the hands of the prime minister.”
The Bihar assembly elections will be held in three phases on October 28, November 3 and November 7, with the vote counting taking place on November 10.
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