Chiras pushes BJP for early announcement on seat-sharing in LS polls, criticises Kushwaha

Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan Monday asked the BJP to announce at the earliest the seat-sharing deal for Lok Sabha polls among the NDA partners in Bihar and also criticised sulking RLSP leader Upendra Kushwaha over his recent comments.

Paswan met BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav, who is his party's in-charge for the state, and told PTI later that seat-sharing talks among the BJP, Janata Dal (United), and his party have been positive.

He told Yadav the BJP should make an announcement regarding the division of seats among these three National Democratic Alliance (NDA) parties at the earliest, he said.

In a sign of Kushwaha's isolation within the NDA, Paswan disapproved of his recent outbursts, which have been aimed at Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, and also the ultimatum given to the BJP that it should make an announcement regarding the seat-sharing arrangement by November 30.

"Such talks only weaken the alliance. He (Kushwaha) also said that he would now talk to no one except Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This amounts to shutting doors for talks. This is not good," the LJP parliamentary board chief said.

With BJP president Amit Shah busy in the state poll campaign, NDA sources said a final announcement on the share of seats of all Bihar allies could be made after the assembly elections are over.

Shah had earlier announced that the JD(U) and his party would contest an equal number of seats in Bihar, which sends 40 MPs to the Lok Sabha.

With the prospect of Kushwaha remaining in the NDA looking increasingly grim, NDA sources said the LJP may get to contest six seats, while the BJP and the JD(U) get 17 seats each.

Sources said the there was a proposal earlier that LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan be sent to the Rajya Sabha and his party fight four Lok Sabha seats.

However, the question mark over the continuation of Kushwaha means that there may be reconfiguration of arithmetic of seats among the NDA partners.

The BJP, LJP and RLSP, which fought the 2014 polls together, had won 22, six and three seats respectively. The JD(U), which fought against the NDA, had won only two seats and joined the ruling alliance in 2017.