Lok Sabha polls 2024: RLJP threatens to walk out as cracks appear in Bihar NDA camp

A day before the Election Commission is set to announce the dates of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) suffered a setback after Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras (Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party) threatened to walk out of the alliance.

The problems between the BJP and the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) started soon after Chirag Paswan, son of the late Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, was included in the NDA in July last year.

Two days after Chirag Paswan claimed that the BJP leadership agreed to all his demands over seat sharing, Paras said on Friday (March 15) that he has urged PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to consider giving five seats to his party or else the doors would be open for them because they are an independent political party.

Vying for a legacy

Paras, brother of Ram Vilas Paswan, has been at loggerheads with Chirag Paswan as both the uncle and the nephew vying for the political and social legacy of the senior Paswan, who was a prominent leader of the Dalit community in Bihar.

“We have five sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) so it is obvious that we will ask the BJP, which is a senior partner in the NDA, to give us our sitting seats. We are not asking for something more. We were with the BJP when people decided to leave the party. Now the BJP leadership has to decide if they want to stay with those who deserted them and returned last year. We are one of the oldest alliance partners of the BJP. Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras has always been with PM Modi for the last 10 years,” Sanjay Saraf, senior leader of the RLJP and national spokesperson told, The Federal.

Family feud

The family feud between uncle Paras and nephew Chirag started after the death of Ram Vilas Paswan in October 2020. The feud took a dramatic turn after five Members of Parliament of the Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJSP), formed by Ram Vilas Paswan, decided to back Paras and Chirag was left alone.

After the split, Paras formed the RLJP and Chirag the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).

“The entire debate is over the political legacy of Ram Vilas Paswan. During the 2019 general elections, Ram Vilas Paswan asked Pashupati Kumar Paras to contest from Hajipur, the political bastion of the family. Since we already have MPs in the constituencies of Vaishali, Khagaria, Hajipur, Nawada, and Samastipur in Bihar, it is obvious that we want our sitting seats,” added Saraf.

However, it appears Chirag has won the battle. After holding discussions with both parties for the last few days, the senior BJP leadership has offered five Lok Sabha seats to Chirag. Paras, on the other hand, has been offered the post of Governor in a BJP-ruled state.

“We cannot force anyone to stay in the NDA. If someone wants to go out of the NDA then what can we do? How will a person who betrayed his brother, his nephew and his sister-in-law, be loyal to PM Modi? We do not want to take names here, but the BJP is the senior partner in NDA and if they have offered us five seats, then it is obvious that people support Chirag Paswan, the son, as the true political heir of Ram Vilas Paswan,” Ajay Kumar, senior leader of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and national spokesperson, said.

Beset with problems

The problems within the NDA in Bihar are not limited to feud between Chirag and Paras. Several members of the NDA in Bihar are unhappy with the seat-sharing formula that is being worked out by the BJP leadership.

There are speculations that the BJP could contest 17 out of the 40 seats, setting aside 16 seats for the Janata Dal (United) or JDU, 5 seats for Chirag Paswan’s party and one seat each for Jitan Ram Manjhi and Upendra Kushwaha. Apart from Paras, who wants all five sitting seats, former Union minister Kushwaha wants at least three Lok Sabha seats, and Manjhi wants to contest at least two seats.

“During the 2019 general elections, we were given six Lok Sabha seats, but this time the BJP leadership asked us to contest on five seats. We have agreed on the new seat-sharing formula. If the BJP has decided to offer one seat each to Upendra Kushwaha and Jitan Ram Manjhi, then what can we do? It is not our concern to talk about others,” Ajay Kumar further said.

To further add to the challenge for the BJP leadership, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is also annoyed with the growing importance of Chirag Paswan in the NDA and has urged the BJP leadership to accommodate the views of other members of the alliance. “Pashupati Kumar Paras has worked with PM Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for a long time and he has personal relations with both leaders. We have been with NDA for 10 years and did not walkout like others,” added Saraf.

Another partner to leave NDA

With the elections around the corner, the differences within the NDA in Bihar could create difficulties for the alliance. Senior leaders of the NDA fear that the NDA is facing the threat of losing the perception battle in the state if the alliance is unable to end the differences over seat sharing.

Political experts feel that before the elections, it is possible that more political parties will try to get a better bargain with the NDA and INDIA alliance. “It is clear that the BJP leadership is doing hard bargaining with its alliance partners because the general perception is that the momentum is in favour of the BJP-led NDA. Before the election, it is possible that more political parties could change sides for a better bargain with the NDA or INDIA alliance,” said Ashutosh Kumar, chairman of the Department of Political Science at Panjab University.

Four days after a split in the NDA in Haryana, when the JJP walked out of the alliance over differences on seat sharing with the BJP in the state, Bihar is the second state where the NDA is faced with an uphill task to keep alliance partners bemused.