Bihar Election 2025: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday visited the residence of Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) [LJP(RV)] chief Chirag Paswan to participate in Chhath Puja festivities, in a gesture that comes amid new political alignments and speculation over internal equations within Bihar’s ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
During the meeting, Paswan expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for joining the celebration and dismissed opposition claims of tension between the Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)] and his party.
“I would especially like to thank CM Nitish Kumar ji, as on the second day of the Chhath festival he came and ate Prasad here. This holds great significance for me. Regarding seat sharing, there were narratives being set by the opposition suggesting that the CM was upset and there was tension between JDU and LJP… I want to clarify that this is not true; there has never been any problem between the two parties,” Paswan told news agency PTI.
VIDEO | Patna: Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Chhath Festival says: “I would especially like to thank CM Nitish Kumar ji, as on the second day of the Chhath festival he came and ate Prasad here. This holds great significance for me. Regarding seat sharing, there were narratives… pic.twitter.com/FdT3PooVYV
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 26, 2025
He further said that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had benefitted from a “divided” NDA in the 2020 assembly elections but that the alliance was now united.
On X, the LJP(RV) leader wrote, “Thank you, Honourable Chief Minister, for coming to my residence today and accepting Chhath Prasad. I am grateful for your wishes to my family on the occasion of the great Chhath festival.”
धन्यवाद माननीय मुख्यमंत्री जी, जो आज आप मेरे आवास पर आए और खरना का प्रसाद ग्रहण किया। इस दौरान मेरे परिवार के सदस्यों से मुलाकात कर छठ महापर्व की शुभकामनाएं देने के लिए हार्दिक आभार।@NitishKumar pic.twitter.com/hy1EbuqHFK
— युवा बिहारी चिराग पासवान (@iChiragPaswan) October 26, 2025
Chirag Paswan Counters RJD’s Attacks
Responding to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s remarks about CM Nitish Kumar, Paswan told news agency IANS, “The individual he is accusing had already started campaigning much earlier… He resolved all concerns regarding the alliance, and then we emerged as the United Alliance.”
Patna, Bihar: On RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s remarks about CM Nitish Kumar, Union Minister Chirag Paswan says, “The individual he is accusing had already started campaigning much earlier… He resolved all concerns regarding the alliance, and then we emerged as the United… pic.twitter.com/3e05DePZ9l
— IANS (@ians_india) October 26, 2025
On RJD’s election promises, the Union Minister said the opposition’s pledges lacked financial grounding. “If they are not going to be in the government anyway, they just keep talking and talking. They can make as many announcements as they want, but they should first pick up a pen and paper and explain to us, with proper details, how? How will you increase the state’s revenue? Only then will this money come, right? Now you are talking about government jobs for every family. Whenever a scheme of ours is launched, you copy it, increase its amount, and try to show it as stronger to prove that you care more. But where will the money come from?…”
Patna, Bihar: On RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s election promises, Union Minister Chirag Paswan says, “If they are not going to be in the government anyway, they just keep talking and talking. They can make as many announcements as they want, but they should first pick up a pen and… pic.twitter.com/b8IhAyXjTQ
— IANS (@ians_india) October 26, 2025
BJP, JD(U) to Contest Equal Seats; Chirag’s Rise as Key NDA Player
The meeting comes after the seat-sharing agreement for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections marked a significant change in the NDA’s internal balance. Both JD(U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will contest 101 seats each in the 243-member assembly — a first since the early 1990s — while the LJP(RV) has been allocated 29 constituencies.
This equal seat division between the BJP and JD(U) effectively ends JD(U)’s long-standing “big brother” status in the alliance and signals the BJP’s emergence as an equal, if not dominant, partner in Bihar’s ruling coalition. LJP(RV)’s 29 seats include strategically important constituencies such as Jamui, Hajipur, and Khagaria, where the party has a strong Dalit and youth support base.
From 2020 Fallout to 2025 Strategy
The recalibrated seat distribution comes against the backdrop of the 2020 assembly election, when JD(U)’s tally fell to 43 from 71 in 2015 after the LJP decided to go solo. Although Paswan had declared himself “Prime Minister Modi’s Hanuman” at the time, his independent campaign had inadvertently cut into JD(U)’s votes, weakening Nitish Kumar’s standing within the alliance.
Now, five years later, the BJP seems to be balancing continuity and future ambitions — maintaining Nitish Kumar as the face of stability while encouraging Chirag Paswan’s emergence as a long-term political force.
For Nitish, the 2025 elections could define his political relevance within a transformed NDA. For Paswan, the 29-seat allocation signals a breakthrough moment, positioning him as the most influential junior ally after the two principal partners.
As for the BJP, the arrangement allows it to sustain coalition harmony while gradually building leverage through its younger ally.
