Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan on Tuesday declared that his party will be a strong arm of the NDA, and the alliance will go on to win all 40 seats in Bihar in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Talking about his party returning to the NDA, he added that the decision was taken following positive discussions with the BJP over his "concerns". "All is well in NDA. Talks were going on for a long time. We had some concerns and discussions were held over it and very amicably and positively an agreement was reached. Our aim is the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2025 Bihar election," Paswan said. VIDEO | "I officially announce Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is now a strong arm of NDA. We will win all 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar and NDA minus Nitish Kumar will form the next government in Bihar," says LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan after returning to NDA. pic.twitter.com/7JIF7bJyeY — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 18, 2023 Paswan also made it clear that his party will contest from Hajipur, a Lok Sabha seat currently represented by his estranged uncle and Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras. RLJP chief Pashupati Kumar, however, hit back saying, "His claim of contesting from Hajipur is baseless. I would like to advise him that he should not betray the people of his constituency and contest from his present seat." #WATCH | On Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan's statement of contesting from the Hajipur seat in 2024, Hajipur MP and RLJP chief Pashupati Kumar Paras says, "His claim of contesting from Hajipur is baseless. I would like to advise him that he should not betray… pic.twitter.com/IPZXJHpTx0 — ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2023 Paswan had earlier indicated that he expected the BJP to stick to the same seat-sharing arrangement as in 2019 when the undivided LJP had contested on six Lok Sabha seats and was given a Rajya Sabha seat as well, reported PTI. In 2020, his party walked out of the NDA in Bihar ahead of the state assembly polls, saying that it will not fight the election under JD(U) president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s leadership of the ruling alliance in the state. After Nitish Kumar defected from the BJP-led alliance, Paswan was seen campaigning for saffron party candidates during the 2022 bypolls in Bihar.
