Lok Sabha polls 2024: INDIA alliance offers 8 seats to BJP ally Chirag Paswan in Bihar, say sources

Lok Sabha polls 2024 update: The Mahagathbandan or the Grand Alliance in Bihar, a part of the Congress-led INDIA alliance, has offered eight seats to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally and the national president of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) Chirag Paswan in the state and two Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the upcoming general elections. 

The Mahagathbandhan is putting pressure on Chirag Paswan and making efforts to include him in the Bihar Grand Alliance, sources aware of the matter told India Today TV. The INDIA alliance seems to have moved the rook against the bishop in Bihar's political chessboard as there is friction between Paswan and his uncle and central minister Pashupati Paras, leading to continuous delay in seat-sharing with the NDA. 

As per sources, the BJP is offering six seats to Chirag Paswan and Pashupati Paras in the NDA but they are not ready for this. The national president of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has demanded their claim remains on the 6 seats they won in the 2019 elections when the LJP was not split. 

Meanwhile, Paras claims that 5 out of the 6 LJP MPs are now with him and his party is a part of the National Lok Janshakti Party, making his claim valid on the 6 seats. Not only the issue of seats, the uncle and nephew are also battling it out over the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat in Bihar. 

At present, Pashupati Paras is the Lok Sabha MP from Hajipur but Chirag Paswan also staked his claim on the Lok Sabha seat citing the legacy of his father and former Union Minister late Ram Vilas Paswan. Bihar has 40 seats in the parliamentary elections and sends the fourth-highest number of MPs to the Lok Sabha. 

The issue of seat-sharing has become more complicated after Nitish Kumar's return to the NDA. Earlier this year, Nitish Kumar returned to the NDA fold to form the Bihar government with support of the BJP. 

In January, Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister for the ninth time due to problems of the Mahagathbandhan with the RJD and the Congress. The dissatisfaction stemmed from the INDIA bloc's lack of preparation for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. 

"They did not do even one thing. Till today, they haven't decided which party will contest from how many seats. This is why I left them and came back to who I was with initially. I will keep working for the people of Bihar," Kumar said at the time.