The BJP on Friday hit out at its former NDA ally Lok Janshakti Party, accusing the latter's president Chirag Paswan of trying to create a confusion by harping on his equations with senior leaders of the saffron party, and asserted that it had no relations with the LJP.
Paswan has been lauding the BJP and its top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, while attacking JD(U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, giving rise to speculation that he has some tacit understanding with the saffron party.
"We want to make it clear that we have no relations (with LJP), and we do not like this politics of spreading confusion," BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar said.
Other senior BJP leaders, including party general secretary Bhupender Yadav, too hit out at Paswan, who walked out of the ruling National Democratic Alliance in Bihar and his party LJP is contesting the assembly polls on its own.
Yadav accused Paswan of practising "politics of lies", saying he had been praising the Bihar government in February this year.
"Chirag should not either live in illusion or nurse any illusion or spread illusion," Yadav tweeted.
Javadekar said BJP's alliance in Bihar is with JD(U), Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM(S) and Vikassheel Insaan Party, asserting the NDA combine will win three-fourth majority in the state.
The Union Minister's statement came hours after Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi saying that Paswan's party left the NDA as it wanted more seats than what the BJP was willing to give.
He also said, "LJP is a vote katwa (divider of votes) party, they don't want a BJP government in Bihar."
"LJP was asking for more seats than what we wanted to give, so the matter broke down. Nowadays, some leaders of LJP are spreading rumours and asking why did the Prime Minister and Amit Shah not stop LJP from leaving NDA," said Modi.
"Who are they to question Union Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Modi? Also, if the LJP is opposing Nitish Kumar as the chief minister of Bihar, then it means that they are against both Modi and Shah," he further said, and added that on one hand the LJP praises Prime Minister Modi while on the other they oppose Nitish Kumar.
The LJP, which has come out of NDA in Bihar, has decided to put up candidates on seats contested by the Janata Dal (United).
It has announced candidates on 27 seats going to polls in the first phase of state polls.
Elections to the 243-seat Bihar Assembly will be held in three phases -- October 28, November 3, and 7. The counting of votes will take place on November 10.
(With Agecnies Inputs)