Will contest Uttar Pradesh, Punjab polls with or without BJP: Chirag Paswan
Chirag Paswan, president of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas), has announced that his party will contest upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab regardless of whether a seat-sharing deal is reached with the BJP. Paswan is currently balancing his role as an NDA ally with a strategy to expand his party's independent footprint among Dalit voters.
Why it matters
This move signals potential friction within the NDA coalition and highlights the strategic maneuvering of smaller regional parties to maintain relevance and bargaining power ahead of state elections.
Ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab scheduled for early next year, key NDA ally and Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) president Chirag Paswan, in an interview to The Hindu , said his party would contest in both States “with or without the BJP”.
His assertion comes on the heels of his recent remarks that he feels ashamed to be part of the government in Bihar in the context of molestation cases involving minor girls in Jamui, Samastipur, Banka and other districts. Earlier, he had also questioned the Election Commission’s handling of concerns surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
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