Chirag Paswan hails party's '100% strike rate', says Bihar election result ends talk of JD(U)-LJP (RV) rift

LJP chief Chirag Paswan on Saturday met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and congratulated him

Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan on Saturday said his party had delivered a “100% strike rate” in the Bihar Assembly elections.

According to him, NDA's sweeping mandate had put to rest “all speculation” that the Janata Dal (United) and the LJP(RV) would “dent each other’s prospects.”

“This is our party’s second-best performance after 2005,” Chirag Paswan said, reflecting on the LJP(RV)’s turbulent electoral past. “There was a time in 2009 when even my father couldn’t win the poll, but he made a comeback in 2014. The same thing happened with me in 2020- we underperformed and then went through a very rough phase in 2021. But in 2024, we won five Lok Sabha seats with a 100% strike rate. And now, in the Assembly polls, we have delivered again."

His party won 19 of the 29 seats it contested- many of them constituencies where the NDA had performed poorly in previous elections. The LJP(RV)’s return to the NDA fold this year, after contesting independently in 2020, is also estimated to have added 5–6% to the alliance’s vote share.

Paswan also met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna to congratulate him on the coalition’s decisive victory. Sharing a photo from the meeting on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote that he had extended “hearty congratulations and best wishes” to Nitish Kumar for the “resounding majority.”

Chirag Paswan said, “I congratulated Nitish-ji and he appreciated the role of every alliance partner. We also discussed what the next steps for the alliance should be.”

He criticised the opposition for “misleading people” by attempting to build a “false narrative” of tensions between the JD(U) and the LJP(RV).

“There was a narrative used against us that the JD(U) and LJP(RV) have issues and will dent each other. The results have given a clear answer,” he said.

Paswan on Saturday, along with his party delegation, met with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his residence in Patna.

Paswan extended his wishes to CM Nitish Kumar on the National Democratic Alliance's resounding success in the Bihar assembly elections.

"I met the CM, congratulated him and extended him best wishes. NDA registered a historic victory under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. So, a delegation of LJP(RV) met him and congratulated him," Chirag Paswan told reporters after meeting CM Nitish Kumar.

The Union Minister expressed happiness, stating that CM Nitish Kumar appreciated the role of every alliance partner in the NDA, hitting out at the opposition for promoting "misleading" people by setting up a false narrative between JD(U) and LJP (RV).

"I am delighted that the CM appreciated the role of every alliance partner in the NDA. He supported the LJP(RV) candidate when he went to vote. In Alauli, where I vote, I supported the JD(U) candidate. This shows that those were misleading regarding JD(U) and LJP(RV) and were just setting a false narrative," Paswan added.