PATNA: Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Saturday thanked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and the BJP for "showing a big heart" in accommodating smaller NDA partners, including his LJP (Ram Vilas), in the seat-sharing arrangement for the assembly elections.
Chirag Paswan met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Patna to discuss strategies for securing key constituencies ahead of the 243-seat Bihar Assembly elections, scheduled for November 6 and 11, with counting on November 14.
He asserted that the NDA would achieve "a historic victory" and mocked the opposition INDIA bloc for alleged infighting among its constituents.
Speaking to reporters, Paswan added that a coalition plagued by internal clashes cannot deliver development, warning that the people will not accept such leadership ahead of the state elections.
"Who says Tejashwi Yadav's name (as CM candidate) is confirmed when even the Alliance is not saying that Tejashwi is confirmed. The people will not accept them. An alliance which has so many internal clashes cannot develop Bihar," he said.
Earlier today, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said Tejashwi Yadav, a "very popular candidate" and the former deputy CM, should be declared as the Mahagathbandhan's chief ministerial candidate.
"There is no clarity on whether Tejashwi Yadav is the face or not. Candidates of the RJD, Congress and the Left are going to fight against each other. The NDA, on the other hand, is all set for a historic victory under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.
"We were not fighting for a particular number of seats as such. We only wanted to contest from those places where we had a strong presence. I am thankful to the BJP and the JD(U). Both have shown a big heart in the NDA seat-sharing arrangement," said the Hajipur MP, whose Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) got 29 seats, despite not having a single MLA in the outgoing assembly.
Both the BJP and JD(U) have got 101 seats each, while the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) led by Upendra Kushwaha and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) led by Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi have been allocated six seats each.
The 243-member Bihar assembly will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and 11. The counting of votes will take place on November 14.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
