'I will contest Bihar polls': Union Minister Chirag Paswan ends speculation; 'voters will decide from which seat I fight'
Chirag Paswan (file photo)
NEW DELHI: Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday announced he will contest the
Bihar assembly elections
, due later this year.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief made the remark at a rally in Ara in Bhojpur district where he sounded his party's poll bugle.
"I will contest the assembly polls in Bihar. I will contest not just in Bihar but for Bihar and its people. I am the son of Ram Vilas Paswan. I will realise the dreams of my father and work for 'Bihar first, Bihari first' to change Bihar," news agency PTI quoted Paswan as saying. He was recalling a slogan he had coined ahead of the previous 2020 assembly polls
On the question of which assembly seat he would contest, the Hajipur MP replied this would be decided by the people of the state.
"It is for the people of Bihar to decide from which seat in the state I should contest in the upcoming assembly polls. Whenever I take a political decision, I take it for the sake of the state and its people," the actor-turned-politician said.
He has also made it clear that his plans to contest the elections preferably from an unreserved constituency should not be construed as his alleged chief ministerial ambition.
"Let me make one thing very clear. My contest will only ensure a better strike rate for my party, which would help the
NDA
," he stated
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
37 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan likely to be released on June 11, party colleague says
Incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan is likely to get bail on June 11 in the Al-Qadir Trust case, a top party leader has said here. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is set to hear the petitions requesting the suspension of sentences to Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi in the 190 million Pound Al-Qadir Trust case on June 11. Khan, 72, has been lodged at the Adiala Jail since August 2023 in multiple cases. Expressing confidence that the party's founder will secure bail that day, Gohar Ali Khan, chief of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said, June 11 is going to be an important day for both Khan and his wife, but gave no particular reason. The IHC had earlier postponed the hearing of petitions in the Al-Qadir Trust case until June 11. The adjournment came after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) requested additional time to prepare its arguments, ARY News reported. Gohar told ARY News on Saturday that the PTI will collaborate with opposition parties to launch a movement, which will be led by the party's patron-in-chief from jail. He urged the opposition parties to join PTI for the sake of the country's survival and security and revealed that a strategy for the upcoming budget has been finalised. "The party will address a press conference on June 9 regarding it," he said. Earlier last month, Khan had said he will lead his party's upcoming protest movement against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led coalition government at the Centre, from the prison. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister and a prominent leader of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Ali Amin Gandapur, earlier this week threatened to launch a full-scale movement for the cricketer-turned-politician's release after Eid Al-Adha. Khan, who faces multiple cases and has been convicted in a few of them, has repeatedly claimed the February 8 general elections of last year to have witnessed the 'Mother of All Rigging.' He has called his rivals the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) as "mandate thieves." Rana Sanaullah, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs, while speaking with the media at his home town of Faisalabad in Punjab on Saturday, urged the PTI to accept Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's offer of a meeting for negotiations and sit with the government to make amendments to the election laws. Gohar claimed Khan's wife Bushra Bibi, was being held in jail without any charges to pressure the PTI founder and claimed no deals will be made for the founder's release. He also dismissed rumors of internal rifts within PTI. Some years ago, the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom agreed to a settlement worth 190 million pounds with the family of property tycoon Malik Riaz. According to an earlier report in Dawn, the NCA, in August 2019, declared that it was granted freezing orders on eight bank accounts containing 100 million pounds, "suspected to have derived from bribery and corruption in an overseas nation." The NCA said it had informed the then government, run by Khan's PTI. It is alleged that Khan asked Shehzad Akbar, his aide on accountability, to resolve the matter, who in turn, "settled" the case with the frozen funds belonging to the national treasury being adjusted against Bahria Town's liability, the Dawn said. Bahria Town Ltd, Malik's real estate firm, was found to have illegally acquired thousands of acres of land on Karachi's outskirts in district Malir. It had donated hundreds of acres of land to the Al-Qadir Trust, a non-profit that has only two trustees - Khan and Bushra Bibi.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
India-China ties: Ambassador Feihong hopes of 'better and better' future; says work needed by both sides
Chinese Ambassador Xu Feihong expressed optimism about the future of India-China ties on Sunday, describing the relationship as one rooted in a shared civilizational heritage spanning thousands of years. He hoped that relations between the two neighbours would become 'better and better' in the coming years. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a felicitation programme in Kolkata for Indian students proficient in Chinese, Feihong highlighted the historical depth of the bilateral relationship. He said, that the two countries have enjoyed these close ties for the majority of these thousands of years. When asked about the ongoing border issues, Feihong cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's past remarks, saying, 'Just like Prime Minister Modi said that in the thousands of years' relations between China and India, there was a very short time of differences between us.' 'We should look forward, look to the future, the young people today,' he stated, noting that youth were central to building stronger understanding. Praising the Indian students honoured at the event, Feihong said that the young generation is the hope for the two nations. "So we should believe that in the future our relationships will be better and better," and this is serrves as a reason to resolve the differences on both sides, he said, quoted by PTI. On the question of resolving border tensions, he stressed that work should be done by both sides and not only by the government but also by the think tanks, students and universities. Feihong recalled the 'very important consensus' reached between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping to promote 'good neighbourly relationships' and expressed confidence that 'new development will be taking shape in the coming time'. He also said he was hopeful that direct flights between India and China, suspended since 2020, would resume soon. Addressing the gathering, the envoy noted that India-China relations were at a 'critical stage' and highlighted that 2025 will mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. He announced plans for a youth exchange delegation from India to visit several Chinese cities, including Beijing.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Owaisi hopes AIMIM candidates would be successful in Bihar polls
Hyderabad, Jun 8 (PTI) AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday hoped that his party's candidates would be successful in the coming Bihar Legislative Assembly elections. Addressing Eid Milap event organised at the AIMIM's headquarters here on Sunday evening, he expressed hope that the efforts of the party's Bihar unit chief Akhtarul Iman would be successful. He said the party has already announced its candidate from Bahadurganj in the state. Four of five AIMIM MLAs elected in Bihar in 2020 switched over to the RJD later. Owaisi also said some organisations 'take law into their hands" ahead of Bakrid. He said it is not good for rule of law and the Constitution if law is taken into one's hands. 'If somebody has any complaint, the person should follow the legal route. If you become vigilante, remember, democracy will be weakened," he said. Owaisi's comments on 'taking law into hands" is an indirect reference to attempts by some organisations to prevent alleged illegal transportation of cattle ahead of Bakrid. PTI SJR SJR ADB
