Bihar Elections 2020: Rift In NDA! LJP Says, 'Won't Contest Polls Under Nitish Kumar's Leadership'

Bihar Polls 2020: The LJP members do not want to contest the election Nitish Kumar's leadership. Will this be an end of the NDA-LJP coalition? Read on

Bihar Polls 2020: Political parties in Bihar have geared up for the upcoming Bihar Polls, while Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar commenced his election campaign with a digital rally, NDA ally Lok Janshakti Party held a crucial meeting regarding the Bihar leadership. Also Read|Bihar Elections 2020: BJP, JD-U, LJP To Fight Assembly Polls Together Under Nitish Kumar's Leadership, Says JP Nadda The party members sat together to discuss Nitish Kumar's leadership for the upcoming elections and according to the reports, the LJP member has decided no to fight the Bihar Assembly elections with JD(U) under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. The party members have not confirmed yet about quitting the partnership with NDA but sources have confirmed that the final decision will be taken by the LJP chief Chirag Paswan. The LJP members said that the coronavirus situation in Bihar and havoc caused by floods have built a negative image of Nitish Kumar and they don't want to be a part of it. It is pertinent to note that there is already a rift between Chirag Paswan and Nitish Kumar and both the leaders have been attacking each other in various instances. Chirag Paswan's slams Nitish Government On the eve of the meeting, LJP president Chirag Paswan fired yet another salvo at JD(U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, saying his decision to provide government jobs to kin of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes community members who were killed is "nothing but an election-related announcement". In a letter to the Bihar chief minister, he accused Kumar of not fulfilling earlier promises made to SCs and STs, including giving them three dismil of land. The LJP president said that "if the Nitish Kumar government was sincere", it should give jobs to a family member of all those from the communities who were killed during its 15-year rule. Kumar's decision to join hands with former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, a Dalit leader like the Paswans with a history of targeting the LJP, has further soured their ties. While aiming at Kumar, Chirag Paswan has refrained from attacking the BJP and has even been lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi. One of the options that Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan''s party, now headed by his son Chirag Paswan, may consider is to remain a part of the BJP-led NDA at the Centre but to fight outside the coalition's fold in the state, while not contesting against the saffron party, sources said. It may be noted that the LJP had in February 2005 fought against the RJD in the Bihar assembly polls, even though both regional parties were part of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre. The LJP put up candidates against the RJD while maintaining its ties with the Congress. This had led to the formation of a hung assembly in the state, ending Lalu Prasad Yadav''s RJD''s 15-year rule, and another assembly poll held a few months later saw the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) and BJP alliance storming to power with their maiden majority. While BJP leaders, including its national president J P Nadda, have been insisting that all three NDA parties will fight the upcoming polls together, sources said a sense of unease has crept in, with Kumar working to strengthen his position by actively wooing leaders from the RJD and tying up with Manjhi. The JD(U) has also made it clear that it will not hold any seat-sharing talks with the LJP, as its ties have been traditionally with the BJP. The Election Commission is likely to announce the schedule for the Bihar polls sometime this month. Polls to the 243-seat assembly are likely to be held in October-November. Also Watch| Will LJP quit coalition with NDA and contest Bihar Polls alone?