LJP Says No To Rajya Sabha By-Elections In Bihar, Expresses Gratitude To RJD For Support

The Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant after the death of former Union Minister and LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan. The nomination filing will start from December 3 and if needed, the election will be held on December 14.

Chirag Paswan (File Photo/ Getty)

Patna: Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan on Tuesday, while expressing gratitude for the support offered by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), refused to contest the vacant Rajya Sabha seat of his late father former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan. The Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant after the death of former Union Minister and LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan. The nomination filing will start from December 3 and if needed, the election will be held on December 14. The Tejaswi Yadav led RJD, offered support to the LJP, in order to contest on the seat, if Reena Paswan widow of the LJP founder wished to challenge the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Sushil Modi. Later, LJP made it clear through its official Twitter handle, that the party will not contest the upper-house by-elections. "Members of the RJD have expressed a desire to support an LJP candidate. We express gratitude to them but the LJP will not contest this seat," LJP’s tweet quoted. "This seat was reserved for our respected leader, late Ram Vilas Paswan Ji. As he is no more with us, it is up to the BJP to give the ticket to anyone," it further said. According to insider sources, RJD is planning to field Shyam Rajak in the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-elections against the NDA, but still, no official announcement has been made yet. NDA candidate Sushil Kumar Modi will file his nomination on December 3. During the Bihar assembly elections, Chirag Paswan led LJP, broke from the NDA in Bihar after citing ideological differences with Chief Minister and leader of the alliance in the state Nitish Kumar. LJP under the leadership of the 37-year old actor turned politician contested 143 seats but only managed to secure a single seat. After the results were declared for the 243-seat assembly, NDA secured a majority by winning 125 seats, while RJD maintained its position as the single largest party in the state assembly with 75 seats.