Bihar Election Results 2020: Chirag Paswan's LJP wins only 1 seat, deals a blow to JDU tally

Chirag Paswan (Image: Twitter/@iChiragPaswan)

Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) ended up winning one of the 143 seats it contested. However, the party candidates, who contested where the Janata Dal (United), or JDU, had fielded is candidates, managed to get over 5.7 percent votes, the Election Commission website revealed.

The LJP succeeded in damaging Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JDU by cutting into its votes in at least 28 seats. Of the 43 seats where the JDU and the LJP had fielded candidates, the JDU's tally from 2015 has gone down by 28 seats. However JDU's tally has gone up by 6 seats in 77 seats where the LJP is not contesting.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won the polls by bagging 125 seats, but the JDU has clearly underperformed by winning 43 seats.

JDU spokesperson K.C. Tyagi said a "sinister" campaign was run against Nitish Kumar as part of a "conspiracy". "Our own also harmed us along with the outsiders," he told news agency PTI, without taking any names. He, however, expressed confidence that Kumar will become the chief minister again.

Throughout the campaign, Chirag Paswan, who also worked in Bollywood, was targeted by BJP leaders for allegedly confusing voters by flaunting his love for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Son of former Union Minister and LJP founder Ram Vilas Paswan, who died days ahead of the Bihar polls, had continuously targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his failure in delivering the promises.

Founded by Ram Vilas Paswan in 2000, the LJP could never win enough seats to rule on its own in Bihar. However, it has tasted power and made its presence felt by stitching as well as undoing alliances.

Since 2005 when he parted ways with his ally Lalu Prasad Yadav and pulled out of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Ram Vilas Paswan had seen himself as the ‘kingmaker’ of Bihar. In the two assembly elections held in February and October of 2005, he was instrumental in ensuring an end to the fifteen-year RJD rule and paving way for Nitish Kumar to become the Chief Minister of Bihar for the first time.

(With inputs from PTI)