New Delhi: Union minister and LJP (RV) leader Chirag Paswan announced at a 'Nav Sankalp Rally' in Arrah, Bihar, on Sunday that he will contest the upcoming assembly elections, heeding to his party leaders' demand and putting to rest speculations on this which have been going on for some time.
"A question is being asked whether Chirag Paswan will contest assembly elections from Bihar. My answer is yes! I will contest from every seat in Bihar to make Bihar first and Biharis first. The biggest thing is that I will contest elections for Bihar and will contest elections for Biharis," he said amid loud cheers from people present at the rally.
Sources told ET that Paswan had taken a decision on this much earlier and wanted to announce it at a public event. He has been maintaining that the NDA will contest the upcoming assembly elections under the leadership of Nitish Kumar and that Kumar would be made the chief minister.
But now, he has positioned himself quite differently. Clearly, Paswan is eyeing a major role post-elections. A few days ago, his party leader announced that if Paswan decided to contest elections, he would contest from a general seat rather than an SC seat to show that he is a state leader acceptable to all.
Recently, he has been quite vocal over issues concerning Bihar. On Wednesday, Paswan expressed regret over the death of a minor rape victim from Muzaffarpur and in his letter to Kumar, he called it an abject failure of the state's law and order system.
A BJP leader told ET that anyone, including Paswan, can contest from the seats allotted to his party after seat sharing. "Paswan has said that he is working under the leadership of Nitish Kumar and is committed to making him the CM. Kumar and we are contesting 243 seats with the same goal," JDU spokesman Rajeev Ranjan told ET.
"A question is being asked whether Chirag Paswan will contest assembly elections from Bihar. My answer is yes! I will contest from every seat in Bihar to make Bihar first and Biharis first. The biggest thing is that I will contest elections for Bihar and will contest elections for Biharis," he said amid loud cheers from people present at the rally.
Sources told ET that Paswan had taken a decision on this much earlier and wanted to announce it at a public event. He has been maintaining that the NDA will contest the upcoming assembly elections under the leadership of Nitish Kumar and that Kumar would be made the chief minister.
But now, he has positioned himself quite differently. Clearly, Paswan is eyeing a major role post-elections. A few days ago, his party leader announced that if Paswan decided to contest elections, he would contest from a general seat rather than an SC seat to show that he is a state leader acceptable to all.
Recently, he has been quite vocal over issues concerning Bihar. On Wednesday, Paswan expressed regret over the death of a minor rape victim from Muzaffarpur and in his letter to Kumar, he called it an abject failure of the state's law and order system.
A BJP leader told ET that anyone, including Paswan, can contest from the seats allotted to his party after seat sharing. "Paswan has said that he is working under the leadership of Nitish Kumar and is committed to making him the CM. Kumar and we are contesting 243 seats with the same goal," JDU spokesman Rajeev Ranjan told ET.
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