‘No such thing as friendly fight’: Chirag Paswan’s dig after RJD’s Bihar list

Chirag Paswan

Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) national president Chirag Paswan on Monday targeted the opposition’s grand alliance in Bihar, saying politics has no room for “friendly fights” and asserted that the INDIA bloc has conceded several constituencies to the NDA.

Paswan’s party, part of the NDA, is contesting 29 seats in the upcoming Bihar polls.

After the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) released its list of candidates for 143 seats, some of which overlap with the Congress’s choices, Paswan remarked that he is watching the political developments closely. "But I have never seen an election where such a big alliance is on the verge of a split. There can be a dispute over the choice of seats, but they have not been able to even decide the number of seats," he said.

Polling for the Bihar elections will take place in two phases on November 6 and 11. The results will be announced on November 14.

Disagreements over seat allocation have left Mahagathbandhan allies contesting against each other in several constituencies, a development that risks splitting Opposition votes and strengthening the NDA’s prospects.

"There is nothing called 'friendly fight'. Either you are friends or you are fighting against each other. If you are contesting polls against each and targeting each other's leaders, how can you expect this won't have an impact in other seats?" Paswan asked.

"Mahagathbandhan will pay a big price for this. NDA was progressing strongly, and now Mahagathbandhan has given us a walkover on many seats that appeared to be challenging," he said.

The RJD, led by Tejashwi Yadav, on Monday declared 143 candidates for the Bihar elections. Exposing tensions within the Mahagathbandhan, the list includes four seats where Congress has already named its nominees.

Earlier, Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal reaffirmed "rock solid" unity of the NDA alliance like the "Pandavas" ahead of the Bihar Assembly election.