Union minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan Monday said PM Narendra Modi has travelled a long way from his “previous image” to present himself as the man for development. On Bihar polls, Paswan said he would talk of seat-sharing at an opportune time and his party would accept the CM candidate chosen by BJP. LJP, meanwhile, has sought to contest six Legislative Council seats, elections to which are scheduled in July. Praising the PM, he said: “Modi has overcome the kind of image he had. Now, he has become a development man. [related-post] There is also a shift in the mindset of minorities. UPA had created an atmosphere of fear invoking BJP.” Paswan gave enough hints of malleability towards seat sharing. Asked how many seats LJP would like to contest this time, after it got 75 seats to fight for in alliance with RJD in the last Assembly polls, he said: “In politics, one should not always dream, but settle with pragmatic calculations. BJP has always treated us with respect unlike Lalu Prasad.” He said his son and Jamui MP Chirag Paswan would embark on Bihar Bachao Yatra at district headquarters from June 5. Chirag, who visited a Paswan settlement of Beldarichak in Masaurhi on Sunday, said; “The Nitish Kumar government been talking about protecting the rights of Dalits. However, last month, police personnel drove away several Paswan families from a government land without taking along women police. Is it way to ensure dignity for Dalits?” Over 50 Paswan families had to be vacated from a government land after it was allotted to some Mahadalit families under free land scheme.
