Chirag Paswan Stands Firm: No Less Than 36 Seats for LJP (Ram Vilas) in Bihar Polls

With the nomination process for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections set to begin on October 10, political negotiations within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have intensified. Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) national president and Union Minister Chirag Paswan has made his stance clear — his party will not settle for anything less than 36 assembly seats.

According to party insiders, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has so far confirmed eight seats for the LJP (Ram Vilas) — Govindganj, Hisua, Rajapakar, Brahmpur, Bodh Gaya, Sikandra, Makhdumpur, and Jehanabad. However, following recent discussions between Chirag Paswan and senior BJP leaders, sources from the LJP (R) maintain that the party will not agree to a seat share below the 36-seat threshold.

The BJP has reportedly proposed a “1 Lok Sabha seat = 6 Assembly seats” formula for smaller alliance partners. Based on this, Chirag Paswan is said to have initially agreed to around 30 seats corresponding to the party’s five sitting MPs. Yet, the LJP (R) leadership argues that since the party received fewer Lok Sabha seats, it must be compensated with a larger share in the Assembly elections. The party has also clarified that it is not seeking Rajya Sabha seats, and that discussions are moving toward a 36-plus seat settlement.

In a significant internal reshuffle, Chirag Paswan has appointed Arun Bharti as the party’s election in-charge, making it clear that future talks regarding seat-sharing will be handled by him. Chirag has also conveyed to senior BJP leaders Dharmendra Pradhan and Vinod Tawde that all electoral discussions will now go through Arun Bharti.

“As party president, I will communicate directly with the top leadership when required — not with the election coordinators,” Chirag reportedly remarked, signaling a more structured negotiation strategy ahead of the polls.