logo
Chirag likely to contest Bihar assembly polls

Chirag likely to contest Bihar assembly polls

Hindustan Times22-04-2025

Amid the rising voices from his party to contest upcoming Bihar assembly polls, Lok Janshakti Party ( Ram Vilas) president and Union minister Chirag Paswan is in all likelihood going to contest the polls scheduled later this year, as per top sources in the party.
' Yes, it is there. The LJP(RV) president is likely to contest the state assembly polls. It is taking shape and things would come up soon. It is being considered seriously,' said a senior party functionary, close to the LJP(RV) president, seeking anonymity.
LJP(RV) national president and Union minister, food processing industries, Chirag did not comment on the reports that he is likely to contest the state assembly polls. 'I will not comment on this matter,' Paswan said, while talking to HT on phone from New Delhi.
However, insiders in the party said the junior Paswan and his close team has started working on the proposal of contesting the state polls in a big way and the party has already zeroed in on few seats including reserved constituencies like Kalyanpur in Samastipur, Mohania , etc from where the 42 year- old union minister could contest. At president, Paswan is a sitting Lok Sabha MP from Hajipur ( SC)parliamentary constituency. There is 38 reserved seats for scheduled caste community and two reserved seats for scheduled tribe community out of 243 assembly seats in Bihar assembly.
' There is a big demand from workers and leaders of the party that Chirag should contest the assembly polls. There are offers and suggestions coming from party workers and leaders from seats where our president should contest the polls. Many leaders have suggested that our president should contest either from south, central or north Bihar. We will all be happy if our president contests the polls,' said Ashraf Ansari, state vice president of the party and spokesperson.
The LJP(RV), having five MPs, is a key constituent of the ruling NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the 2020 state assembly polls, the LJP(RV) led by junior Paswan had contested 133 seats all alone, but had won one only seat .
Many political observers feel, the LJP(RV)'s decision to contest the polls alone with majority candidates being given against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar led Janata Dal( United) was one of the factors that perhaps caused the poor show of JD(U) strongman's outfit, which managed to win only 43 seats.
Sources said the move by junior Paswan to contest the polls is aimed to increase LJP(RV)'s electoral presence in the state as well as give a fillip to the union's minister's larger goal of becoming a chief ministerial face in the days to come. In a recent media interview, Paswan had said that he would like to be more active in his own state Bihar and serve the state.
The LJP(RV) president, son of Lok Janshakti Party founder and deceased former union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, has been vocal on state's development and also pushed his ' Bihar first, Bihari first' vision as the party's long-term plan to steer the state to higher trajectory of growth.
Chirag's party MP Arun Bharti batted for a bigger role for Chirag in state politics. 'Chirag Paswan is ready to shoulder bigger responsibility in Bihar; has vision and acceptability across castes, communities,' said Bharti.
Reports said, the demand for junior Paswan to contest the assembly polls was raised at a meeting of the youth wing of the LJP(RV) which was attended by top leaders in Patna. A resolution to demand that party president should contest the assembly polls was passed at the meeting, reports said. State president of the LJP(RV) youth wing Ved Prakash Pandey has posted a message regarding this on his X handle.
Incidentally, there are speculations rife that the demand being raised for Chirag to contest the polls is a calculated move by the regional party to flex its muscles for a better seat sharing deal with the BJP and other constituents in the NDA. Sources said the LJP(RV) is keen to contest around 35-40 seats , a demand that may put the BJP and its allies in trouble as other smaller allies like HAM(Secular) and Rashtriya Lok Manch led by MP, Upendra Kushwaha would then also have a reason to make demands for higher number of seats.
' The LJP(RV) chief is probably seeing an opportunity to become a CM face for the NDA in coming polls. But that may not prove fruitful as the BJP and its allies are already clear that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would be the CM face for the 2025 polls. Yes, there is some sort of pressure politics game being played by the LJP(RV) for higher number of seats or other considerations. But NDA is strong and united,' said a BJP leader, seeking anonymity.
Meanwhile, the opposition RJD has welcomed the possibilities of LJP( RV) president contesting the state polls.' It is good thing if Chirag contests the state polls. But at the same time, he should also tell people what the NDA government at the centre has done for Bihar in last 11 years in power,' said RJD state spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwary.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

J&K, first among all States /UTs, to get sanction under PMGSY-IV
J&K, first among all States /UTs, to get sanction under PMGSY-IV

United News of India

time29 minutes ago

  • United News of India

J&K, first among all States /UTs, to get sanction under PMGSY-IV

Srinagar, June 10 (UNI) J&K has become first among all States and UTs, to get sanction under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-IV (PMGSY-IV). The biggest ever package sanctioned for J&K under PMGSY will provide connectivity to 390 eligible habitations with a population of more than 250 souls, an official spokesman said. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan for sanctioning 316 road projects in J&K UT, at an estimated cost of Rs.4224 Cr under Batch-I of PMGSY-IV. The Lieutenant Governor observed that the approved 1781 KMs road length will provide a major boost to rural road connectivity and usher in a new era of prosperity in far-flung areas. 'Grateful to Hon'ble PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji & Hon'ble Union Minister of Rural Development Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan Ji for sanctioning 316 road projects at an estimated cost of Rs.4224 Cr under Batch-I of PMGSY-IV for providing connectivity to 390 no. of eligible habitations,' Lieutenant Governor posted on X. UNI MJR GNK

Chirag Paswan may contest from a general seat. Tough task, but it helps to be a star candidate
Chirag Paswan may contest from a general seat. Tough task, but it helps to be a star candidate

Indian Express

time33 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Chirag Paswan may contest from a general seat. Tough task, but it helps to be a star candidate

At a rally in Bihar's Arrah on Sunday, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan confirmed his intention to contest the forthcoming Assembly polls. The Dalit leader has also indicated that he wants to contest from an unreserved Assembly seat, which is being seen as a move to expand his and his party's reach beyond the Scheduled Castes. Asked if this also indicated his chief ministerial ambitions, Paswan, who is currently a Union minister, said: 'My contest will only ensure a better strike rate for my party, which would help the NDA.' If he contests from a general seat, it would be a first for Paswan. He has also never contested an Assembly election earlier, having won twice earlier from the Jamui Lok Sabha seat (2014 and 2019), and once from Hajipur (2024). Poll data since 2004, when the Election Commission (EC) began specifying the caste or tribal status of each candidate, shows, though, that while Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates frequently contest from general seats, their chances of victory are small. In Bihar, for example, in the past 20 years since the EC started maintaining the data, SC/ST candidates have won only five times from a general seat, and never in a Lok Sabha poll. Notably, the undivided LJP, which has always fielded a high number of SC/ST candidates from general seats, has never seen any of them win. Overall, since 2004, 5,953 SC/ST candidates have contested from unreserved seats in Lok Sabha elections, with 62 (or just over 1%) of them winning. In state Assembly elections, the number is almost similar, at 20,644 such candidates, and 246 recorded wins (1.19%). Since 2004, the highest number of SC/ST winners in general seats were seen in last year's Lok Sabha elections, at 22 (two of them women) – though, their number has been rising, from 15 in 2004, to eight in 2009, seven in 2014, and 10 in 2019. 2024 also saw the highest proportion of SC and ST candidates in general seats (19.4% of total). In 2019, such candidates accounted for 16.2% of all contestants. The lowest share of these candidates since 2004 was in 2009, at 12.8%. Tribal candidates far outnumbered SCs when it comes to winning from a general seat. Among the 62 overall who have won since 2004 from general seats in Lok Sabha polls, 47 have been STs and 15 SCs. This is despite SC candidates in general seats being more than six times STs (5,063 compared to 890). Among the states, Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of SC/ST candidates contesting from general seats since 2004, at 830, followed by Tamil Nadu at 754, Madhya Pradesh at 342, Andhra Pradesh at 314, and Karnataka at 286. Maharashtra has the most total Lok Sabha seats of these states at 48, while Tamil Nadu has 39, Madhya Pradesh 29, Andhra Pradesh 25, and Karnataka 28. The highest number of SC or ST winners in general seats are from Arunachal at 10, followed by Assam at seven, and Ladakh, Nagaland and West Bengal at five each. No other states have seen more than five such winners. The Northeast is overrepresented here given the low number of seats in the region where most seats are already reserved for STs. At 55, Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara has seen the most number of SC/ST candidates contesting from a general seat, followed by Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur and Maharashtra's Nagpur at 50 each, and Telangana's Khammam and Nizamabad at 45 each. If only 62 SC/ST candidates have won from general seats since 2004, just 65 more have placed second and 177 third. The vast majority – 5,649 of 5,953 – came in fourth or lower. Just 164 SC/ST candidates have secured more than 10% votes when contesting from general seats, and only 147 others have been able to save their deposits by winning at least one-sixth of the total votes. Their presence in the race on most occasions did not make a difference, with just 200 SC/ST candidates standing in general seats since 2004 securing more votes than the margin of the winner, and presumably influencing the result. Most of the SC/ST candidates contesting from general seats in Lok Sabha elections are Independents, comprising 3,284 of the total 5,953 since 2004. Of them, only three have won – all from Ladakh. In comparison, the two biggest parties nationally, the BJP and Congress, account for just 54 and 52 such candidates, respectively. Of the BJP's 54, nearly half or 28, won from general seats, with the Congress tally at 15. The Mayawati-led BSP, not surprisingly, far outstrips other parties, with 600 such candidates fielded in general seats. The Dalit-oriented party, though based in Uttar Pradesh, contests Lok Sabha polls across the country. The most notable SC/ST winners from general seats since 2004 include Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and Sarbananda Sonowal, both from the Northeast. Rijiju, a member of the Nyishi tribe, has won the Arunachal West Lok Sabha seat four of the last five times, while Sonowal, also a tribal leader and former Assam CM, has won his seat thrice from Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh. BJP MP and tribal leader Mansukhbhai Vasava from Gujarat's Bharuch shares the record with Rijiju on ST candidates who have won from general seats the most times, at four. Like Sonowal, Arunachal BJP president and ST leader Tapir Gao won from Arunachal East and Congress Dalit Punjab leader Sher Singh Ghubaya won from Firozpur thrice each. Most recently, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Samajwadi Party Dalit leader Awadesh Prasad defeated the BJP in Faizabad, a general seat that is home to Ayodhya's Ram Temple. In the Assembly elections held since 2004 (counting the 2025 Delhi Assembly polls), 20,644 SC/ST candidates have contested from general seats, or 11% of total, lower than their proportion in the Lok Sabha polls. Like the Lok Sabha polls, SC candidates outnumber STs in such seats by more than five times (17,330 SCs to 3,314 STs). And like the Lok Sabha polls, they figure far behind among winners – of the 246 such winners till date, 64 have been SCs and 182 STs. The year 2023, when there were nine Assembly elections, saw the highest number of such candidates at 1,792. It is followed by the years 2014 and 2024 (1,666 and 1,622, respectively), when there were Lok Sabha polls as well as eight state elections each. Like in the case of Lok Sabha elections, Maharashtra has seen the most number of SC/ST candidates contesting from general seats, at 3,058. UP, with the largest Assembly in the country, comes second at 1,811, followed by Tamil Nadu at 1,687, Andhra Pradesh (which included Telangana until 2014) at 1,675, and Karnataka at 1,410. However, in terms of winners, none of these states count among the top. Assam has seen the most number of SC/ST candidates emerge victorious from general seats at 30, followed by Rajasthan at 26, West Bengal at 23, Sikkim at 22, and J&K at 20 since 2004. At 121 candidates, a large concentration of such winners is, hence, in Northeastern and other hill states. Apart from the 246 winning SC/ST candidates from general seats, just 297 placed second and 858 placed third. The remaining 19,243 candidates (93% of total) finished fourth or lower. Only 822 candidates even secured a vote share greater than 10%, with only 622 others managing to save their deposits. As far as the impact on the outcome goes, there have been 1,031 SC/ST candidates in general seats who secured more votes than the winners' margins. Of these, 732 were SCs and 299 were STs. Like at the Lok Sabha level, in Assembly polls too, Independents comprise the biggest chunk (nearly half, at 9,789) of the SC/ST candidates who have contested from general seats since 2004. The BSP again tops among parties, with 3,210 such candidates, with the BJP (295) and Congress (222) trailing far behind. In fact, at 239 SC/ST candidates in general seats since 2004, the LJP, including Paswan's LJP (RV) now, outranks Congress, despite being a Bihar-based party. The other parties to have fielded more than 100 such candidates in the last two decades include the Republican Party of India (Athawale) – also a Dalit-focused party like the LJP – at 212; the Gondwana Gantantra Party at 206; the SP at 149; the CPI(ML)(L) at 133; the CPI(M) at 109; and the Aam Aadmi Party at 100. However, the winners' list of such candidates is dominated by national parties. The BJP again has the most SC/ST winners in general seats at 59, followed by the Congress at 55, Independents at 18, the Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) at 10 each, the Biju Janata Dal at nine, the National Conference at eight, and the BSP at six. Among the most prominent such winners has been Babulal Marandi, Jharkhand's first CM and one of the BJP's tallest tribal leaders, who won the unreserved Dharwar Assembly seat in 2019 and 2024. Two-time Sikkim CM Prem Singh Tamang, an ST leader of NDA member Sikkim Krantikari Morcha, won unreserved seats in 2004, 2009, and 2014. Ramesh Jarkiholi, another tribal leader and former Karnataka minister, won the unreserved Gokak seat for the Congress in 2018 and the BJP in 2023. Praniti Shinde, daughter of former Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde, won Maharashtra's Solapur City Central seat in 2009 and 2014 as an SC candidate. Nisith Pramanik, an SC leader and former Union minister, won the unreserved Dinhata seat in West Bengal in 2021 before becoming an MP. With four victories from the unreserved Gossaigaon seat in Assam (2006 to 2021), Bodoland Peoples' Front leader Majendra Narzary holds the record for SC/ST candidates in Assembly elections. Meghalaya's Sanbor Shullai matches him, having won unreserved seats twice with the NCP, in 2008 and 2013, and twice with the BJP, in 2018 and 2023.

South Indian states will be engines of growth, says Dharmendra Pradhan
South Indian states will be engines of growth, says Dharmendra Pradhan

The Hindu

time36 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

South Indian states will be engines of growth, says Dharmendra Pradhan

South Indian states with progressive governments will be the growth engines for the country as it strives to become a developed nation by 2047. The entire nation is proud of them, said Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday. The Centre has not yet made any strategy on the proposed delimitation of parliamentary constituencies, he said, and quoted Union Home Minister Amit Shah to say that there would be no discrimination against the South states on this count. Talking to the media to present a progress report on the 11 years of Modi Government, he said that the tentative Census schedule has been released and women's quota too has to be taken into account. South along with Western India, especially Maharashtra and Gujarat, will continue to be ahead of the rest of the country due to their historical background, knowledge base and hard work. Mr. Pradhan also justified more private universities pointing out that enrolment in higher education need to be enhanced from the current 27% to 50% by 2035. 'We need more colleges, quality educational institutions, and universities. We have recently opened up the sector for foreign universities. But, 75% students continue to study in government funded institutions,' he said. Golden period On the Centre's performance front, the Minister claimed that the last 11 years will be judged by history as a 'golden period' because of the manner in which the country had prospered economically by becoming the fourth largest and having drastically reduced poverty rates. 'From a fragile economy, we have become a destination for global investments. Our digital payment system has cut corruption, and government capex has increased to ₹12 lakh crore from ₹2/3 lakh crore. Our government comprises 60% SC/ST/BCs. It will be remembered as a welfare, caring and sensitive government for the common people,' he said. 'Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have delivered a transparent, decisive and trustworthy governance,' he added.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store