INDIA bloc attempts coup, offers seats to BJP's Bihar ally
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) has reportedly attempted a political coup in Bihar before the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The bloc, which includes the Congress and Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the state, has extended an offer to Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) supremo Chirag Paswan. Per NDTV, the INDIA's proposal involves eight Lok Sabha seats in Bihar and two in Uttar Pradesh to Paswan's LJP-RV, an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Why does this story matter?
The development comes months after Janata Dal-United (JDU) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar quit the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) to join hands with the BJP's National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Kumar has oscillated between alliances with the BJP and the RJD since 2013. Furthermore, the JDU's exit from the INDIA bloc dealt a major blow to the opposition ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. It now seeks to set things right by offering seats to the BJP's disgruntled ally—the LJP-RV.
Background on LJP split and strained relations
The INDIA's offer to Paswan comprises all six seats in Bihar that the undivided LJP won in 2019. It comes amid a rift between Paswan and his uncle—Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) chief Pashupati Paras—following the death of the party's founder and Paswan's father, Ram Vilas Paswan. The LJP was ultimately split in 2021, and since then, the uncle-nephew duo has suffered strained ties. The Election Commission of India granted the RLJP name to Paras and the LJP-RV to Paswan.
NDA's alleged plan in Bihar for 2024 polls
In 2019, under the NDA, the BJP and the JD(U) each contested 17 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, and the LJP contested the six remaining constituencies. While the LJP and BJP won all the seats they contested, the JD(U) fell short only in Kishanganj. However, the NDA is now allegedly keen to repeat the same arrangement, despite the LJP split, leaving Paras and Paswan's parties to work out an understanding over the six seats the LJP contested in 2019.
Potential boost for opposition alliance
If Paswan accepts the INDIA bloc's offer, it could strengthen the opposition alliance and set the stage for a showdown between the LJP-RV and the NDA ally RLJP in Bihar. This would also provide a moral victory for the opposition bloc, which has recently seen the departure of two key allies: JD(U) in Bihar and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) in Uttar Pradesh.
