Photo Credit: The Suncity News
Patna, March 28, 2024: Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) national president Chirag Paswan met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his official residence in Patna on Thursday, marking their first meeting in a long time.
Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, Bihar health and agriculture minister Mangal Pandey, and JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha were also present. A photograph released by the CM’s residence showed Nitish Kumar with his hand on Chirag Paswan’s shoulder, signaling a thaw in ties.
After the meeting, Chirag Paswan said:
“We will win all 40 seats of Bihar in the Lok Sabha election 2024. NDA had three parties in 2019 and won 39 seats. This time, with two more parties joining NDA, I firmly believe we will sweep all 30 seats.”
Past Tensions:
Relations between Chirag Paswan and JD(U) leaders had soured in recent years. JD(U) leaders had repeatedly accused Paswan of damaging their prospects in the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, when his party fielded candidates against JD(U) nominees. JD(U), which contested 115 seats as part of NDA, managed to win only 43 and slipped to third position in the state.
Chirag Paswan, meanwhile, had been a vocal critic of Nitish Kumar, targeting him over law and order issues, the liquor prohibition law, and corruption. He and his party leaders have also alleged that Nitish was behind the split in the LJP in 2021.
Despite this fraught history, Thursday’s meeting is being seen as a significant political rapprochement ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Also Read: Chirag Paswan claimed if his party would allow him, he would contest the assembly poll.
EOM.