LJP gives ultimatum to NDA on seat sharing formula; JDU says ‘all is well in Bihar as LJP will remain in NDA’

The demand by LJP comes a week after Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSP had quit NDA. LJP's Parliamentary Board chairman Chirag Paswan said his party reached out to NDA partners to discuss seat-sharing formula many times but talks have so far yielded no concrete results.

LJP Parliamentary Board chairman Chirag Paswan (L) with father and party chief Ram Vilas Paswan. Photo: File/ Facebook

NEW DELHI: After NDA ally, the LJP, warned the coalition saying it may suffer a "loss" if seat-sharing agreement for 2019 Lok Sabha elections is not finalised on time, LJP’s top leader demanded for the seat-sharing formula in Bihar, UP and Jharkhand to be finalised by 31st December. Pashupati Paras, a top leader in the LJP  told ANI, "We are asking for what is rightfully ours. We are an honest partner of the NDA. We are asking for the same number of seats that we fought from in 2014." He further added "we definitely want seats from Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh as well, as our vote bank exists in these states. Time is running out now. We want Amit Shah to finalise this by December 31. We want them (BJP) to maintain the sanctity of the coalition". Ram Chandra Prasad Singh of JDU said that everything is fine in Bihar NDA and talks on seat sharing have concluded and the announcement will be made soon. He further added “There is no problem in NDA. LJP will remain in NDA.” The demand by LJP comes a week after Upendra Kushwaha’s RLSP had quit NDA.  LJP's Parliamentary Board chairman Chirag Paswan said his party reached out to NDA partners to discuss seat-sharing formula many times but talks have so far yielded no concrete results. Earlier, Chirag Paswan had said "After dismembering of the TDP and the RLSP from the NDA fold, the alliance is going through a critical juncture. At such a time, the BJP should properly address the concerns of the remaining parties of the alliance before it is too late," he said in a tweet in Hindi. "We have discussed the seat-sharing issue with BJP leaders many times but failed to reach an agreement. If this issue is not settled on time, it could also lead to damage," Paswan said. In 2004, the JDU and the BJP contested Lok Sabha elections sharing 26-14 seats. In 2009, the JDU fought on 25 and the BJP on 15. However, in 2014, Nitish Kumar broke ties with the NDA over Narendra Modi’s candidature as Prime Minister and both parties contested separately. The BJP then won 22 seats while its allies the LJP and the RLSP won six and three seats respectively. The NDA won 31 of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in 2014 and has now been bolstered by the presence of Nitish Kumar's JDU, which fought against it in the last polls. Opposition parties believe political winds are no longer as favourable to the BJP as they were in 2014 due to "anti-incumbency" against both Modi and Kumar and are hoping that Kushwaha's exit further weakens the state's ruling alliance.