Nitish Kumar questions Chirag Paswan's Bihar Assembly plans: 'Why contest after becoming union minister?'

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar can’t see why Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and NDA ally Chirag Paswan want to contest the upcoming assembly elections, despite being inducted into the Union cabinet, The Times of India report said.

Quoting a conversation between the two leaders, Chirag's brother-in-law and Jamui MP Arun Bharti said the CM asked, “You are a Union minister, a young politician with a bright and long political career ahead. So, why contest assembly elections now?” The discussion reportedly took place during their meeting in Siwan ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s June 20 rally.

According to Bharti, Nitish also asked Chirag which constituency he was considering, suggesting unease within JD(U) over LJP(RV)'s potential impact on seat-sharing within the NDA for the 243-member Bihar assembly. Chirag, the Union minister for food processing industries, has already declared that his party is preparing to contest all seats in Bihar—fueling speculation about his possible chief ministerial ambitions.


Bharti added that Chirag responded diplomatically, saying he would “go by my party’s decision in this regard and come to seek your [Nitish’s] blessings before contesting the polls.”

During the conversation, Chirag reportedly reiterated his now-familiar slogan “Bihar is calling”, presenting it as part of his commitment to state politics. “He told the CM that like him, he too wants to be directly involved in state politics to take Bihar out of the RJD’s ‘jungle raj’,” Bharti said.

Reacting sharply, RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav dismissed Chirag’s messaging. “He should speak openly that he wants to become CM instead of doing the ‘Bihar is calling’ drama,” Tejashwi said.

Bharti, meanwhile, accused the RJD of fuelling rumours about NDA disunity out of fear that the ruling alliance could cut the opposition’s seat tally below what it managed in the 2020 assembly polls. He also announced that LJP (Ram Vilas) is planning a major mobilisation event—the 'Bahujan Bhim Sankalp Samagam'—on June 29 in Rajgir, Nalanda, Nitish Kumar’s home district. “Around two lakh people are expected to attend the event, with the CM’s blessings,” he claimed.

With inputs from ToI