Chirag Paswan says 'voting for JDU means destroying Bihar' as LJP releases first poll list

The Lok Janshakti Party on Thursday named its 42 candidates for the upcoming Bihar assembly elections with some BJP turncoats figuring in the list. This comes on the day of the sudden demise of LJP founder and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan. Chirag Paswan had earlier announced that his party will go solo in the state polls due to differences with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, while the NDA has announced Nitish as their CM face. The LJP has announced that it will fight from the seats where the JD(U) is also contesting and that it will not take on the BJP.

What is significant is that Chirag Paswan while releasing the first list of candidates again gave a call to defeat the JD(U), claiming that a vote for the state’s ruling party will amount to “destroying” Bihar. All these 42 seats are among the 71 constituencies going to polls in the first phase on October 28, the LJP said.

The LJP has fielded Rajendra Singh and Usha Vidyarthi, two senior Bihar BJP leaders who joined it recently, from Dinara and Paliganj respectively. LJP sources said the party had given preference to upper caste and Dalit nominees in its choice of candidates.

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Ram Vilas Paswan passes away

Union Consumer Affairs Minister and LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan passed away at a hospital in the national capital on Thursday. His son and LJP national president Chirag Paswan made this announcement on Twitter. Since the last few weeks, the veteran political leader hailing from Bihar had been hospitalised. He underwent heart surgery on October 4. This sudden development comes ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls wherein LJP decided to go solo, citing ideological differences with JD(U). He was currently a member of the Rajya Sabha after winning the election unopposed on June 28, 2019.  

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Bihar Assembly elections 2020

Bihar goes to polls in three phases for its 243 assembly seats on October 28, November 3 and November 7. Keeping in view the COVID-19 protocol, the voting time has been increased by one hour. The counting of votes will take place on November 10.

The NDA has announced its seat-sharing formula: The BJP will contest 121 seats and the JD(U) will contest 115, while Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM will contest 7 seats. The VIP party will be incorporated in the BJP's seats. The Mahgathbandhan has announced Tejashwi Yadav as its CM face, and RJD-Congress has agreed on a 144-70 seat-sharing formula along with three other Communist parties contesting on 29 seats. There are three other alliances also that will contest elections this year namely Progressive Democratic Alliance (PDA) - JAP, ASP, SDP, and BMP,  United Democratic Secular Alliance (UDSA) - AIMIM-SJD and BSP-RLSP

In the 2015 state polls, the Mahagatbandhan comprising RJD, JD(U) and Congress won a whopping majority with 178 seats under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. On the other hand, the BJP-led alliance won from only 58 constituencies. On July 26, 2017, Nitish Kumar stepped down as the CM citing irreconcilable differences with RJD over corruption allegations against Tejashwi Yadav and joined hands with its former ally BJP.

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