Bihar Elections: Chirag Paswan’s Strategy – Improve Strike Rate, Not Chase CM Post

Central Minister Chirag Paswan has indicated his potential participation in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, with the primary objective of boosting the strike rate of his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), rather than seeking the Chief Minister’s position. The strike rate measures the percentage of seats won out of the total seats contested. He believes a better strike rate would benefit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). During a discussion with journalists, the Hajipur MP refuted any claims about his ambition for the CM’s post, and expressed disappointment over attempts to cause misunderstandings within the alliance. He clarified that his party’s parliamentary board would decide on his contesting the elections. He added that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has often fielded their national leaders in state elections. The Bihar Assembly elections are due later this year. Paswan emphasized that his participation would be solely to improve his party’s strike rate, thereby supporting the NDA. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the attempts to imply that he is seeking the Chief Minister’s position. During the 2020 Assembly elections, as the Lok Janshakti Party’s president, Paswan caused a shift in the number of seats won by the Janata Dal-United (JDU). Currently, Paswan anticipates that the NDA, under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, will establish its strongest government ever in Bihar after the elections. The Union Minister further revealed that his party plans to initiate its election campaign with a rally in Arrah, the headquarters of Bhojpur district, on Sunday. Speculations are that Chirag might choose to contest from a constituency within the Shahabad region, which includes Bhojpur and neighboring districts. The Union Minister remained discreet, stating that his party intends to conduct more rallies before the elections, with each event encompassing five to six districts.