LJP(RV) to contest UP and Punjab polls with or without BJP, says Chirag Paswan

Lok Janshakti Party (Ramvilas) president and Union Minister Chirag Paswan has said his party will contest the coming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, whether or not it reaches a seat-sharing understanding with its ally, the BJP.

In an interview, Mr. Paswan said the LJP(RV) has been building its organisation in both States and is not prepared to stay out of the contest. He noted that he is in alliance with the BJP at the Centre and in Bihar, and would naturally want that arrangement extended to the two States. If no seat-sharing deal is worked out under the NDA banner, however, the party is willing to go it alone — contesting all 117 seats in Punjab and all 403 in Uttar Pradesh.

The remarks come amid a series of positions that suggest a calibrated distance from the BJP. Mr. Paswan recently said he felt ashamed to be part of the Bihar government in the context of molestation cases involving minor girls in Jamui, Samastipur, Banka and other districts. He has also questioned the Election Commission's handling of concerns around the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Alongside these statements, the party has launched a Generation Z outreach campaign, "Youth Bole Toh", in Patna on September 24, followed by a rally under the same banner in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, three days later.

In both States, the LJP(RV) is seeking to occupy the space of a Dalit party, even as Mr. Paswan often presents himself as a face acceptable across castes rather than solely as a Dalit leader. In Uttar Pradesh, the party is particularly targeting Passi voters, who are present in significant numbers in the eastern and central regions — the two areas where the BJP suffered setbacks in the last Lok Sabha election.

Asked about the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance posing a challenge to the BJP-led Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Paswan said the two parties were drawing confidence from their Lok Sabha performance. He alleged that in the 2024 election they had convinced weaker sections, especially Dalits, through a false narrative that the Constitution would be amended, and said the same approach cannot be repeated in every election. He claimed the Maharashtra results would be replicated in Uttar Pradesh, pointing out that the NDA fared poorly in the State in the Lok Sabha polls but swept the Assembly election that followed.

On his youth campaign, Mr. Paswan said he wants to take "Youth Bole Toh" across the country but will focus for now on election-bound States. He described it as a pressure valve that lets students air grievances about paper leaks and related issues, calling it an attempt to contain a "volcano of complaints". He said he attends not as a Minister but as an elder brother willing to listen.

He dismissed comparisons with "Chhatron Ki Goonj", led by Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, saying Mr. Gandhi's efforts were negatively oriented while his own campaign is focused on finding solutions.