Will the NDA alliance crack? Will Prashant Kishor turn the game around? Various speculations began as soon as the Bihar Assembly election dates were announced. It is heard that a completely new alliance may form in Bihar — Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) may join hands with Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party.
NDTV reported this on Tuesday, quoting an LJP source. Keeping the speculation alive, the source said, 'Doors are always open in politics.' Although no statement has been made on this matter from Jan Suraaj Party or Prashant Kishor's side, PK announced on Monday that his party will release the candidate list on October 9. It will contain many 'surprises'.
On the other hand, discussions are also ongoing between LJP and BJP regarding seat sharing. According to informed sources, Chirag Paswan wants to contest in 40 out of Bihar's 243 seats. In the last election, the NDA had allocated only 5 seats to them. LJP won all 5. This 100 percent strike rate has strengthened their position this time.
However, it is heard that after the BJP and Nitish Kumar's JDU divide 200 seats among themselves, they are considering allocating the remaining 43 seats for other NDA partners. In this situation, political analysts believe that floating rumors of an alliance with Prashant Kishor is actually part of LJP's strategy.
Chirag Paswan's main goal is to become Bihar's Chief Minister. Amid alliance speculations, LJP shared a poster on social media saying 'Abki Baar, Yuva Bihari', projecting him as Nitish Kumar's successor. On paper, there is no possibility of Chirag fulfilling that aspiration by allying with a newcomer like PK in the political field. However, this alliance rumor may increase some pressure on BJP.
Warning his alliance partners, Chirag claims that he has 20,000 to 25,000 votes in every constituency. Therefore, it can be implied that if he leaves the alliance, NDA may face problems not only in LJP's winning seats but in every seat across Bihar, as per Chirag's claims.
