LJP (Ram Vilas) Makes a Splash Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has shocked Bihar with one of the best electoral performances in its history. The party is either leading or winning 19 out of 29 seats with an extraordinary 1,800% of their lone victory in 2020. Moreover, the performance has put the NDA over the 200-seat threshold and was critical to the coalition’s sweeping victory. Chirag Paswan has therefore emerged as the man of the match in the Bihar elections.
How LJP Became NDA’s Vote Multiplier
Initially, the NDA was uneasy with allocating the LJP (RV) 29 seats.
To finally contest 29 seats the LJP contested 28 after rejecting their Marhaura candidate’s nomination.
While it is a limited amount of seats, the LJP produced a remarkable strike rate and helped the NDA gain territorial function in multiple regions.
Additionally, LJP candidates performed well in constituencies like Govindganj, Sugauli, Kasba, Mahua, Rajauli, and Gobindpur.
This helped the NDA win back ground in Dalit and EBC communities, particularly in blocks of influence from the RJD.
Chirag Paswan’s Political Journey and Resurgence
The rise of the LJP demonstrates a long-running political journey that began in 2000. The LJP first became a part of the NDA but withdrew from NDA in 2002 due to the events following Godhra. In 2004, the LJP joined the UPA where Ram Vilas Paswan held significant ministries.
Then in 2014, the LJP came back and became counted in the NDA again, which led to a revival of the LJP at the National level in Indian politics. In 2020 Ram Vilas Paswan died and this created intra-party tensions that rung the LJP into an internal division. In 2021, Chirag Paswan and Pashupati Kumar Paras were two factions in a divided LJP. Chirag decided to name his faction LJP (Ram Vilas), to honor his father’s political legacy.
Paswan formed a new party called the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party. Chirag’s ties with NDA were contentious during the 2020 assembly elections, when he worked out a seat-sharing agreement that led him to run independently on over 137 seats and hurt the JDU’s success. He won only 1 seat but managed to affect at least 29 seats/candidates, which showed he could still operate independently.
The situation changed quickly in 2024 with the Lok Sabha elections, when LJP (RV) won all 5 seats for which it stood. This restored success also came just prior to elections for the assembly and gave Chirag a renewed legitimacy to navigate dynamic situation under NDA strategy. Chirag asked for more seats, but eventually agreed to 29, issuing public statements appreciative of Nitish Kumar’s continued presence and resilience.
This conclusion could be reworded to update more recent events about the LJP after October 2023.
How Candidates Did in Bihar
LJP candidates had strong showings, including places like Govindganj, Sherghati, Rajauli, Bakhtiarpur, Gobindpur, Bochahan, and others where they won clearly. There were other locations such as Parbatta, Nathnagar, Darauli, and Mahua where the LJP was comfortable in a leading position. The LJP did lose in Paliganj, Bodhgaya, Bahadurganj and Maner. Overall, the strike rate was better than expected and changed the NDA electoral map.
Chirag vs Tejashwi in 2030?
Chirag Paswan’s success has confirmed what many might have considered to be a risky bet. Additionally, his success is strengthening his connection to Prime Minister Modi, whom he calls his “Hanuman”. He is also growing his appeal as a leading contender against Tejashwi Yadav in the 2030 election. The 2025 results could certainly provide the foundation for a meaningful contest of generational politics in Bihar.
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