Patna (Bihar) [India], October 19 : Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president and Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday denied any rift within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), emphasising that his party has always maintained the dignity of the alliance.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Paswan stated that there was no conflict with JD(U) and that the seat-sharing arrangement was amicably resolved.
"I have always upheld the traditions that during negotiations, you know, I don't talk much to the media because it only creates confusion. Just to realise that even my silence was creating confusion, even my not speaking was creating an equal amount of controversy about me. But I always tried to maintain the dignity of the alliance. I have always believed in this. And I believe that talks related to alliance should be held within the alliance only", Paswan said in an exclusive interview with ANI.
Paswan has previously criticised the Bihar government led by the Janata Dal (United), where in July he highlighted crime in the state and said that he feels "saddened" to be supporting such an administration which could not curtail crime.
Dismissing any rumours of chaos or differences, Paswan reaffirmed his willingness to stay in the alliance and that there was "never any chance for conflict" since his request for the number of seats was granted on the first negotiation round.
Paswan revealed that the BJP efficiently handled negotiations, offering a pool of 38 seats from which LJP-RV chose 29. This arrangement left no room for conflict.
"Let me make this very clear, and I say this with complete seriousness, there was not the slightest conflict between me and JDU, not on any seat. BJP did these negotiations so efficiently. We had got 29 seats, they requested me to keep a buffer and prepare a pool of 35-38 seats from which we can select and give you seats, if that will not happen, then you will give me a pool of 10 to 15 more seats, then we will discuss that, in the first round itself I gave 38 seats, 29 of my 29 were finalised from that, so I had no reason for conflict."
Dismissing any rumours about the Union Minister being angry, he added, "So if it is concluded that I was angry, that efforts were being made to placate me, or that I wanted to have the biggest share in the alliance and stuff, I myself was very clear on one thing, that I would not want Bhartiya Janata Party or Janata Dal (united) to contest less than 100 seats...We have to contest elections with a big alliance...so in such a situation, my Prime Minister's party, our Chief Minister's party has to contest elections on less than 100 seats, then I myself, I would never accept this fact"
Criticising the Mahagathbandhan alliance, led by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Paswan criticised the opposition alliance, citing a lack of coordination and an authoritative nodal agency, unlike the NDA, where the BJP effectively manages negotiations.
"There is a nodal body for things like this, which coordinates with all the things within the alliance. If we talk amongst ourselves, then we will keep talking to each other, which has happened with the Mahagathbandhan. There is nobody there who will negotiate and coordinate among themselves. In our alliance, the bJP has always done this work very beautifully. This is my 6th negotiation overall, and the BJP has always worked beautifully to be the nodal agency which has taken decisions while being in synergy with each other," he told ANI.
He said that he had not even opened any other communication channels with other parties to avoid any confusion and allow the BJP to be the "nodal agency" for coordination.
"If I had opened my own multiple channels, like if I had started talking with (Upendra) Khushwaha, or (Jitan Ram) Manjhi, then we would not have reached a consensus only. The kichdi would not have been made. Everyone has their own concerns, issues which the BJP can resolve beautifully, because they have the power and means to negotiate, as they have a big pool of seats already, which eventually made everyone satisfied", the Union Minister said.
Within the NDA, LJP-RV is planning on contesting 29 seats out of 243 seats in the assembly. Both the BJP and JD (U) are set to contest 101 seats each. The other partners, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) will contest six seats each.
While NDA has released their list of candidates for both the phases of the polls, the mahagathbandhan, comprising of Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) seem to be having problems. While the Congress and RJD have finalised certain candidates, they have not released the seat-sharing arrangement between them.
Bihar will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with counting of votes to be held on November 14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also set to visit the state on October 24.