Bihar elections: Parliamentary board meet tomorrow to decide on future course of alliance, says LJP

Chirag Paswan and Nitish Kumar. (File)

A day after its president Chirag Paswan met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda, the Lok Janshakti Party on Friday said its future course will be decided at the parliamentary board meeting that will be held at 5 pm on Saturday. The LJP said this will be the last meeting before the upcoming Bihar assembly elections. The three-phase elections to the 243-member Assembly will begin on October 28 and the results will be declared on November 10.

On Thursday, the meeting between top BJP leaders hinted that the NDA’s seat-sharing formula for the upcoming Bihar elections is close to being finalised, BJP sources said. Party sources said the BJP’s Central Election Committee is likely to meet Sunday and release the first list of candidates.

Chirag, who has been under pressure from his party leaders to go it alone in 143 constituencies, met BJP President J P Nadda for the second time this week. “Chirag’s meeting with Shah indicates that the LJP would be a part of the NDA in the October -November election,” a BJP leader said.

While the BJP and JD(U) are continuing their discussions in Patna over the seat-sharing formula, party sources said both sides could agree to keep aside the share of smaller allies from their quota — the BJP would have to provide the LJP seats from its share and the JD(U) would keep aside seats for HAM (S).

This would make the JD(U)’s position more advantageous as the LJP is demanding 25-30 seats while the HAM’s requirement is less. “Keeping this in view, the BJP would like to have the bigger chunk in its seat-sharing with the JD(U),” said a BJP leader.

However, on Wednesday, the LJP had said it would not “succumb to anyone’s attempt to finish off the existence of the party”. LJP sources told The Indian Express that several seats the BJP is offering to the LJP are Muslim-dominated and “not winnable”. “BJP and LJP are still working it out. We have nothing against BJP and in fact, want it to be the senior partner in NDA. A final decision is likely anytime,” said a senior LJP leader.

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