Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas leader Chirag Paswan has decided to return to the National Democratic Alliance, Bharatiya Janata Party chief J P Nadda announced on Monday, hours after Paswan met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, a day before the crucial meeting of the ruling coalition.
The RJD leader on Wednesday had accused senior BJP leader and Muzaffarpur Mayor, Nirmala Devi and her two relatives of "having dual voter ID cards".
Sources said Paswan's party may contest on five of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.
After the Mahagathbandan rejected his overtures, the need for political survival forced Pashupati Kumar Paras to stick with the NDA. The BJP may reward him with a governor's post after the election.
Sources later said differences between the two parties have been resolved.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan predicts Nitish Kumar will be Bihar CM again after elections, criticizes opposition for targeting the Army and questioning Operation Sindoor.
Paswan said he was willing to contest the upcoming Bihar assembly polls as an NDA partner "if the BJP so desires", and made light of estranged uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras' recent meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Following the death of Lok Janshakti Party leader and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Ramdas Athawale of Republican Party of India is the lone member from the Bharatiya Janata Party allies in the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.
The decision was announced by party general secretary S N Singh.
Chirag, like many other leaders who have lost control of their parties, underestimated the adversary.
The BJP's outreach to Paswan, son of late stalwart Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan, underscores its push to bring him back into the NDA's fold after he walked out of the alliance in Bihar in the 2020 state assembly polls to campaign against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was then the BJP's biggest ally.
In his condolence message, President Kovind said in the death of Paswan, the nation has lost a visionary leader. He was among the most active and longest-serving members of Parliament. He was the voice of the oppressed, and championed the cause of the marginalised, Kovind said.
Till now, he was being guarded by a small team of the central paramilitary force SSB.
Paswan, one of India's most prominent Dalit leaders and eight-time Lok Sabha MP died on Thursday at the age of 74.
Paswan was admitted to a cardiac speciality hospital in Patna on Saturday morning after he omplained of uneasiness, congestion and pain in the chest.
The National Democratic Alliance has authorized Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president J P Nadda to select the ruling bloc's vice presidential candidate.
Former Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan on Sunday asserted that every party wants him to be on its side, indicating he could tilt towards the one that offered a better bargain.
"There are six MPs in our party. It was the desire of five MPs to save our party. So, I have not broken the party. I have saved it. Chirag Paswan is my nephew as well as the party's national president. I have no objection against him," Paras told the media. Paras has been elected as the new leader of the Parliamentary party, who is currently representing the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.
Raghopur assembly constituency in Bihar prepares for a high-stakes election where voters may be deciding the next chief minister. Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD's CM candidate, seeks a third term, facing a strong challenge from BJP's Satish Kumar.
Former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, who quit after his Lok Janshakti Party faction was not given any seat by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in Bihar for the Lok Sabha elections, on Saturday announced his party's support to the ruling alliance, ending speculation over his next course of action.
"It is high time India traded dynasty for meritocracy. This would require fundamental reforms, from imposing legally mandated term limits to requiring meaningful internal party elections, together with a concerted effort to educate and empower the electorate to choose leaders based on merit," Tharoor said.
Call it political opportunism or sagacity, his moves, in effect, have not allowed the Bharatiya Janata Party to appoint its own chief minister to date, despite enjoying a near hegemonic status nationally and the best performance in recently held assembly polls where the saffron party bagged 89 seats, followed by the Janata Dal-United with 85.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president, who is on a tour of his home state Bihar, was replying to questions from journalists who sought his views about the episode.
Drug banks, cancer fund now health ministry's babies.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on Thursday met Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan in New Delhi to finalise details related to their alliance and possibly sharing of seats.
'We have 38 Dalits who are MLAs and ministers. But that does not mean the Dalits of Bihar are prospering.'
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Wednesday dropped hints that the Mahagathbandhan helmed by his party might bring on board former Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, whom the National Democratic Alliance has sidelined in favour of estranged nephew Chirag Paswan.
'The seats which we would be contesting have been identified. Respective candidates have also been finalised. Four non-performing sitting MLAs will be replaced with fresh faces.'
Concerned over rising coking coal prices and insecurity of supplies, Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Saturday asked public sector steel producers to scout for mines abroad.
Describing Chirag as wise and mature politician, Paswan said the party needed a young face, one who can travel and work for its expansion.
Senior BJP leaders, including Amit Shah and J P Nadda, met with party leaders and allies to discuss the upcoming Bihar polls. Seat-sharing arrangements with NDA partners are expected to be announced soon.
Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party reiterated its promise to scrap the liquor ban in Bihar if elected, planning to use the revenue to secure loans from international financial institutions.
'This election was won because of Nitish Kumar's face and his policies.'
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi jokingly mentioned ongoing discussions with RJD president Lalu Prasad regarding marriage, following a suggestion from Prasad's son to Union Minister Chirag Paswan.
Former Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party supremo Ram Vilas Paswan was arrested along with dozens of party leaders in Patna on Monday, during a 'Jail Bharo Abhiyan' to protest against failure of Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday assured Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan of enhanced security, a day after a landmine blasted his security vehicle in the Maoist-infested West Midnapore in West Bengal.
The Congress claimed that dynastic politics exists across party lines and also hailed the Nehru-Gandhi family's leadership.
'Lalu doesn't mind the BJP but is not ready for a Muslim CM. He wants only Rabri Devi,' says Ram Vilas Paswan.
Smaller allies of the ruling NDA in Bihar, including HAM and RLM, have expressed resentment over the seat-sharing arrangements announced for the upcoming assembly elections, raising concerns about the alliance's unity.
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