Patna, Feb 12 (IANS) The Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP), led by Pashupati Kumar Paras, has announced that his party will contest all 243 seats in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
The party has also intensified its preparations for the 2025 elections with a focus on grassroots organisation and Dalit empowerment.
“We have planned to establish an organisation at every booth in Bihar. Accordingly, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will be appointed across constituencies. The idea is to make a strong base at the ground level to contest all 243 seats of Bihar,” Paras said.
Paras also announced worker conferences that will be held in all assembly constituencies by April 2025.
The Dalit Sena, RLJP’s Dalit wing, will celebrate Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on April 14 in Patna. Dalit Sena workers from all over Bihar will gather, underlining RLJP’s focus on Dalit issues.
The party vows to fight against Dalit oppression, and the exploitation of Chowkidar Dafadars, and to advocate for the ancestral business rights of the Pasi community in toddy production and sale.
RLJP state president Prince Raj has directed all officials and district presidents to put up the party flag and nameplate at their residences. Senior workers were assured that strong RLJP candidates would be fielded in the Assembly elections.
Before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, RLJP was part of the NDA alliance, and Pashupati Kumar Paras was a cabinet minister in PM Narendra Modi’s government.
However, RLJP was denied a single seat to contest in Bihar during the Lok Sabha elections, leading to a rift. While Chirag Paswan joined NDA, Pashupati Paras distanced himself.
In January, during a Chuda-Dahi feast in Patna on Makar Sankranti, Pashupati Kumar Paras invited Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. Lalu Prasad Yadav, along with his son Tej Pratap Yadav, attended the event at Paras’ residence, sparking speculation of a possible RLJP shift to the Mahagathbandhan.
Paras himself has hinted that a decision on alliances will be made closer to the elections. RLJP’s independent contest on all 243 seats indicates a challenge to both NDA and Mahagathbandhan.
–IANS
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