Will contest Uttar Pradesh, Punjab polls with or without BJP: Chirag Paswan

Union Minister Chirag Paswan. File | Photo credit: PTI

Ahead of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab scheduled for early next year, key NDA ally and Lok Janshakti (Ramvilas) Party president Chirag Paswan told The Hindu that his party would contest in both states “with or without the BJP”.

His claim comes after his recent remarks that he is ashamed to be a part of the Bihar government in connection with cases of molestation of minor girls in Jamui, Samastipur, Banka and other districts. He had also earlier questioned how the Election Commission had dealt with concerns over the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls.

These statements, read alongside his new Generation Z awareness campaign, “Youth Bole Toh”, launched in Patna on September 24 and followed by another rally under the banner in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, three days later, point to Mr Paswan’s decision to distance himself from his main ally, the BJP.

Also read | After Jamua and Samastipur, another video from Bihar’s Bank shows men harassing women

Mr. Paswan said his party worked in both the states.

“I am in alliance with the BJP at the Center as well as in Bihar. Naturally, I would like to see this alliance extended to both the states. Given the hard work we have put in to build our organization in both the states, we are not willing to back down from the contest. If no seat-sharing agreement can be reached in the two states under the NDA banner,” Mr. Paswan himself said. In such a scenario, the party would contest all 117 seats in Punjab and all 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

In both states, the LJP(RV) is trying to occupy the space of a Dalit party, although Mr. Paswan has often positioned himself as an acceptable cross-caste face, rather than being seen only as a Dalit leader.

In Uttar Pradesh, the party is particularly targeting Passi voters, who are present in significant numbers in eastern and central Uttar Pradesh, two regions where the BJP faced setbacks in the last Lok Sabha elections.

Responding to a question about the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance posing a strong challenge to Yogi Adityanath’s BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Paswan said both parties were taking confidence from their performance in the Lok Sabha elections.

“Fake Story”

“In the 2024 elections, they (SP-Congress alliance) managed to convince the weaker sections, especially the Dalits, using a false narrative that the Constitution will be amended. They are trying to revive this narrative, but you cannot use the same trick in every election,” Paswan said.

He further claimed that Maharashtra’s results would be replicated in Uttar Pradesh.

“In 2024, the NDA did poorly in the state in the Lok Sabha elections but swept the parliamentary polls that followed. The false narrative of the opposition will fail and we will see a Maharashtra-like situation in Uttar Pradesh as well,” he said.

Mr. Paswan said that while he wants to take his ‘Youth Bole Toh’ campaign across the country, he will focus on the election-bound states for now. He sees it as a pressure valve that allows students to air their complaints about paper leaks and related issues, and describes it as an attempt to stem the “volcano of complaints.”

“I am going there not as a minister but as an elder brother who is willing to listen,” Mr Paswan said.

He rejected comparisons between his campaign and the “Chhatron Ki Goonj” led by Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, saying Mr Gandhi’s efforts were negative while his campaign was focused on finding solutions.

Published – 29 Sep 2026 21:58 IST