NEW DELHI: Union minister Chirag Paswan said that his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has identified its priority and ‘A’ category seats in Uttar Pradesh and has a clear idea of the minimum number of constituencies it wants to contest as part of an alliance.Chirag Paswan, whose party is part of the BJP-led NDA, did not disclose the number of seats it is seeking. He said that doing so at this stage would be unfair to its alliance partners.“If I share those figures publicly at this stage, I would be doing an injustice to my alliance partners. Within the party, we are very clear and focused about which seats should be our priority. We have also identified the ‘A’ category seats, as we call them in political terminology, and we have a clear idea of the minimum number of seats our party would like to contest as part of the alliance…”The statement comes as the LJP (Ram Vilas) looks to establish its electoral presence in Uttar Pradesh while remaining aligned with the BJP-led alliance. Chirag has indicated that contesting as part of the alliance is the party’s priority, although he has kept open the option of fighting independently.The LJP (Ram Vilas) leader highlighted his belief that voters benefit when they have more political choices. He suggested that his party could present itself as an alternative if an alliance is not formed.“Look, I believe in democracy. The more alternatives there are, the stronger democracy is. The more options people have to choose, the stronger democracy is,” he said, “Democracy is strong. In such a situation, if there is no conflict, as an alternative, I will definitely present myself. Ultimately, this decision has to be taken by the people of Uttar Pradesh.”At the same time, Paswan stressed that the party’s preference is to contest with its alliance partners. He pointed to the arrangements in Bihar, Jharkhand and Delhi.“In such a situation, we are definitely in the priority centre in the alliance. We are in the alliance in Bihar. We fought the elections in the alliance in Jharkhand,” Chirag said, “We fought the elections in Delhi. The priority will definitely be that we fight the elections under the same alliance. But this alliance was mainly prepared for the centre and Bihar.”He said the party has also contested independently in states where there is no alliance arrangement, citing Nagaland as an example.“In other states, like we fought the elections alone in Nagaland. My two MLA’s are also in Nagaland. In such a situation, we have the freedom in other states.”
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On Uttar Pradesh, he said the party would make an effort to reach an alliance agreement but could contest alone if that does not happen.“Even if we could not form an alliance, we can fight the elections alone. But yes, there will definitely be an effort. But I think it is too early to comment. “As the elections are coming closer, there will be more clarity on these things.”Chirag Paswan pointed to his commitment to stay in alliance during the 2020 Bihar assembly elections citing his commitment to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.He said, “For me, such a moment came in 2020, immediately after the death of my leader and father Ram Vilas Paswan ji, when we could not form an alliance in Bihar. But my dedication to my Prime Minister was so great that I did not go to any alternative alliance. I fought the elections alone.”He added, “A large population of Bihar supported us. More than 6% support. We met there, who gave my party that seriousness”
