Patna: Amid speculation surrounding Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) President Chirag Paswan joining the NDA, the party stated on Sunday that a decision regarding alliance formation for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections would be made after 2-3 more meetings with party leaders. Following a crucial meeting of national and state office bearers in Patna, Paswan informed the media that he had been “authorised” by party leaders to make decisions regarding alliance formation, but it would not be appropriate to discuss alliances publicly at this stage.
Paswan evaded questions about taking an oath in the Union cabinet. The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) was established in October 2021 after Chirag Paswan’s differences with his uncle and Union Minister, Pashupati Kumar Paras, led to the election commission assigning a separate symbol to the party.
In the 2020 assembly elections, Chirag Paswan, as the national President of the LJP, left the NDA in protest against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. However, the LJP only managed to secure a 5.66% vote share and win a single seat in the Bihar assembly elections. The lone MLA who won under the LJP symbol later switched sides to join the JD (U).
Before the meeting with party members, Chirag Paswan met with Minister of State for Home Affairs and BJP leader Nityanand Rai in Patna. Following the meeting, Rai criticised the opposition party meeting that took place in Patna on June 23, stating that opposition unity stems from fear of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity. Rai emphasised the BJP’s and Ram Vilas Paswan’s social activities, expressing optimism about the meeting.
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