Even as the BJP remained silent on RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha’s deadline to announce seat sharing for NDA allies before November 30, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan’s son and Jamui MP Chirag Paswan on Monday said that Kushwaha “must not ride two boats and make his stand clear on whether he is with the NDA or not”. Chirag also said that it was not right for an ally to serve an “ultimatum” to its senior partner. The LJP is said to be worried about its vote share in three seats — Hajipur, Samastipur and Jamui — if Kushwaha quits the NDA as the areas have a sizeable number of Kushwaha supporters. The LJP said that it does not openly support the RLSP’s “pressure politics” on BJP. Chirag Paswan on Monday said, “Upendra Kushwaha must not ride two boats. He has to make it clear if he is with NDA or not. He has also attacked chief minister Nitish Kumar and has served a deadline to BJP on seat-sharing.” Though Kushwaha had met LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan seeking support to put pressure on the BJP over the seat sharing, the LJP had refused the demand. Sources said that though LJP had demanded seven seats (same as 2014 Lok Sabha polls) for the 2019 polls, it may get six. There has also been talk of LJP demanding a Rajya Sabha berth for Ram Vilas Paswan, who may not contest the polls next year. On Ram temple, Chirag Paswan said, “It has been part of BJP agenda but its national president Amit Shah made it clear that they would go by the court’s decision. We stick to our stated stand of going by the court’s verdict”.
