Patna: Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has decided to contest 143 seats in the upcoming elections in Bihar. LJP Chief Chirag Paswan reiterated his claim that his party is ready to contest 143 seats in the assembly polls. The development comes after Paswan chaired a crucial meet of former parliamentarians and MPs on how to fight the elections.
There have been reports of a growing rift between the ruling NDA allies LJP and the Nitish Kumar- led JD(U). Paswan had been critical of Nitish government's handling of a number of issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic and law and order in the state. The LJP chief has maintained that his party will support whoever the BJP supports as the chief ministerial candidate in the polls. The LJP and the JD(U) have been in a war of words, with Paswan often taking aim at the functioning of the Bihar government under Kumar.
The BJP has already announced that chief minister Nitish Kumar will be the NDA’s choice for the job in the assembly polls. The LJP has six members in the Lok Sabha from the state and one Rajya Sabha member is its founder and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
Chandan Singh, LJP MP, said, "All the LJP leaders have expressed their desire that the party should contest on 143 parties."
Bihar has 243 Assembly seats and elections in the state are due and expected in October-November as the tenure of the current Assembly will end by last November this year. The Election Commission has not yet taken a final call on poll dates in Bihar.