NEW DELHI JULY 17: Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan has decided to join the NDA Alliance under PM Narendra Modi’s Leadership, BJP chief JP Nadda announced on Monday. Nadda, who met Chirag Paswan in Delhi, welcomed him into the “NDA family”.
The development comes a day ahead of the ruling National Democratic Alliance meeting. Paswan also met Home Minister Amit Shah and described his discussion on the issues related to the alliance with BJP as “positive”.
Had a positive discussion with the country’s Home Minister respected Shri Amit Shah in New Delhi on issues related to the alliance,” Paswan said in a tweet after meeting Shah.
Later, Shah said in a tweet that he and Paswan had an extensive discussion about Bihar politics.
Union minister Nityanand Rai, a senior BJP leader from Bihar, had earlier met Paswan twice.
The undivided LJP under late stalwart Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan, Chirag’s father, had contested six Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and also received a Rajya Sabha seat as part of its seat-sharing deal with the BJP.
The young leader wants the BJP to stick to the same arrangement despite a division in his party, with another faction, Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, headed by his uncle and Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras already a part of the ruling alliance.
Chirag Paswan has emphasised on clarity from the BJP about his share of Lok Sabha and also assembly seats in Bihar before formalising their alliance, sources in the LJP (R) said.
