The Lok Janshakti Party on Sunday decided not to contest the upcoming Bihar elections under the leadership of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United), without ruling out the possibility of forming a BJP-LJP government in the state. All three parties are part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
According to LJP National General Secretary Abdul Khaliq, they decided against participating in the fray with the JD(U) because of their ideological differences. Also, the party was not willing to back down on the issues it has been raising through its "Bihar first, Bihari first" campaign for over a year.
"After the elections in Bihar, all LJP MLAs will join the BJP to form the government. There is no bitterness between the BJP and LJP, but ideological differences with JD(U)," said a party release.
It added in many seats there could be an ideological fight with the JD(U). "We have decided to break away so that the public can decide which candidate is better in the interest of Bihar."
"Also, the Lok Janshakti Party wanted to implement the Bihar First Bihari First Vision document, which could not be agreed in time," said Khaliq.
He added they have a strong alliance with the BJP in the Lok Sabha.
"The LJP believes that on the lines of the Centre, a government under the leadership of the BJP should also be formed in Bihar. Every LJP MLA will work to make Bihar a first under the leadership of the BJP," he said.
The decisions were taken in a meeting of the LJP parliamentary board held on Sunday, which saw a 100 per cent presence of the members, including Pashupati Paras and Kaiser through videoconferencing because of health issues.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had called LJP chief Chirag Paswan to enquire about the health of his father, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan who underwent heart surgery in a Delhi hospital on Saturday.
Sunday's meeting was in fact earlier scheduled on Saturday but had to be postponed because of Ram Vilas's urgent operation.
Chirag had said that his father might have to undergo another surgery if needed.
"Papa has been undergoing treatment in the hospital for the past several days. He had to undergo a heart operation late in the night (Saturday) because of sudden complications. If need be, he may have to undergo another operation after a few weeks...," he tweeted.
As far as Bihar is concerned, the BJP has said that it will fight the elections under the leadership of incumbent CM Nitish Kumar, even as the LJP, its partner in the NDA at the Centre, was not happy with seat-sharing.
( With inputs from ANI )
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