‘BJP leadership ignored state unit views to strike deal with LJP’

Sources in Lok Janshakti Party claim that BJP has agreed to their demand of one RS seat for Paswan, one LS seat in Uttar Pradesh and five LS seats in Bihar.

As it seems, the Bihar unit of BJP was not keen to fight the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the subsequent Assembly polls in alliance with the LJP.

Some of BJP’s Scheduled Caste leaders from Bihar were of the opinion that the party will do much better in the state if LJP leaves the National Democratic Alliance.

However, the Bihar BJP is of the view that Paswan is being wooed by central BJP leaders under the “false impression” that he is the “sole custodian” of the Dalit votes. They even speculate that he is going to leave the NDA at the last moment and join the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

Subodh Kumar Paswan, who is the president of the SC front of Bihar BJP, said that Ram Vilas, who is a minister in the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, is more concerned about the political future of his son.

The recent statements of the Union minister, who never spoke anything until now, and his party members should be seen in this context, the BJP leader said.

“Paswan has realised that if he stays with us, he will not become a minister in 2019 because of the age criterion that the NDA follows. He is also unwell and will not contest the elections. He is ‘bechain’ (worried) about what will happen to his son,” Subodh claimed.

In the 2015 Assembly elections, LJP had contested 42 seats and was able to win two seats with a vote share of 4.8%, which was 6.75% in the previous polls in 2010. There are 38 Assembly seats in Bihar that is reserved for the Scheduled Castes.

During the Modi wave in 2014 elections, the party, contesting as a NDA partner, had got 6.5% of the total votes polled, winning six out of the seven seats it had contested.

Similarly, Rajeev Paswan, who is the vice-president of the front Subodh heads, said that Ram Vilas has outlived his utility.

“We are completely ready; we challenge him to fight election without our support from wherever he wants and once the results are declared, he will get to know the truth. All his relatives lost the 2015 Assembly elections; they all were defeated by rival Paswan candidates only.” Rajeev, who is the son of former BJP stalwart Kameshwar Paswan who is one of the earliest member of Jan Sangh, added, “Ram Vilas is getting more from us than he deserves. We have already told our central leaders about his reduced credibility on the ground in Bihar. If he leaves us, that will be beneficial for us as there are 23 other SCs apart from Paswan in Bihar, including the Jatavs who do not vote for us because of Ram Vilas association with us.”