Seat share: LJP sets deadline for BJP

Patna: Days after the RLSP snapped ties with the BJP in Bihar, another ally LJP has warned the NDA saying that it may suffer a loss in Lok Sabha elections if seat sharing agreement is not finalised on time.

LJP state president Pashupati Kumar Paras on Wednesday demanded that his party should contest on the same number of seats in 2019 as they were given in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Ram Vilas Paswan led LJP had won six out seven seats in 2014 general elections

“BJP President Amit Shah should call a meeting of all allies and finalize seat adjustments before December 31 because time is running out. The NDA may suffer a loss if the matter is delayed further”, LJP state president Pashupati Kumar Paras said.

Mr Paras also demanded respectable seat share in Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh claiming that their voter base exists in these two states.

As per the latest seat sharing formula, the BJP – JD (U) is likely to share 17 seats each. Sources said that LJP leaders were expecting the BJP to offer the remaining number of seats after Upendra Kushwaha left NDA earlier this month.

However, reports suggest that three RLSP leaders who have decided to not to leave NDA may get at least one seat for the Lok Sabha elections in Bihar.

On Tuesday, LJP MP Chirag Paswan had said that “the NDA is going through a critical phase after RLSP and TDP left. The BJP should resolve the issues of other NDA partners in a respectable manner without delay”.

After Jitan Ram Manjhi left the NDA and joined hands with the grand secular alliance, Ram Vilas Paswan with a sizeable vote share of his own caste is considered one of the strongest Dalit leaders in NDA.

Political analysts said that “the BJP is not in the condition to play on the front foot after losing three states recently. The LJP is considered one of the important partners in the NDA after chief minister Nitish Kumar in Bihar”.

Political analysts pointed out that Chirag Paswan tone changed after BJP lost three states, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan recently. In a statement, he had blamed BJP for pushing Ram Mandir and Hanuman issue during election campaigns in these states.

“NDA’s electoral agenda should be development, not Ram temple and Hanuman. Such rhetoric should be avoided by BJP leaders. Time has come for the BJP to set agendas for 2019 Lok Sabha elections which is not far away”, Chirag Paswan had said.