Arrah (Bihar) [India], June 8 (ANI): Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) president Chirag Paswan announced on Sunday that he will contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls.

Speaking at a public gathering in Arrah, Paswan declared that his party would support the NDA in all 243 assembly seats to ensure its victory.

'For those who ask from where I will contest, I want to tell you that my party, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and I will contest on 243 seats to make NDA candidates win and strengthen the NDA alliance. My goal is that the NDA moves towards victory,' said Chirag.

The announcement was made in Arrah, a traditionally weak region for JD(U). Chirag Paswan said he would not contest the election 'from Bihar but for Bihar.' He added that he would leave the decision of his candidacy and constituency to the people.

'I leave this decision to you (people). You decide whether I should contest the Bihar assembly elections, and from which seat. I will follow your decision,' he added.

In a scathing attack on the opposition, Paswan accused both the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress of being responsible for the state's infamous 'jungle raj' era.

'It's not just RJD, Congress is equally responsible for that phase of lawlessness,' he said, while also crediting the current NDA government for awarding the Bharat Ratna to former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur.

Paswan further invoked his father's legacy, the late Ram Vilas Paswan, to criticised Congress for neglecting Dalit icon Dr BR Ambedkar.

'Those who are doing politics in the name of Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar today should not forget history. When there was a Congress government at the center, not even a single statue of Baba Saheb was installed in the Parliament. For the first time, Baba Saheb's statue was installed in the Parliament when my father, revered Ram Vilas Paswan ji, was the Labor Minister in VP Singh ji's government,' he said

'Three pictures of a family were installed in the Parliament, but not of Baba Saheb. Those who talk about Baba Saheb's thoughts should also remember this,' he added further.

Paswan's recent announcement has ignited a debate about seat-sharing within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar. Paswan's demand for 40 seats, citing his party's 100% strike rate in the last Lok Sabha polls, has raised eyebrows among NDA allies.

Chirag Paswan's party is demanding 40 seats, while other allies like Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) are also seeking a handful of seats, while the BJP and JD (U) are reportedly eyeing 100 seats each.

Chirag's aggressive posturing comes against the backdrop of the 2020 polls, where his party secured an almost 5.66% vote share. This brought down the JD(U)'s tally from 71 in 2015 to 43, relegating it to third place behind the RJD and BJP.

Earlier in April, a poster reading '25 se 30, Nitish again' was placed outside Patna's JD (U) office.

Meanwhile, in Khagaria, Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor hit back at traditional party leaders, including Paswan, who were questioning their development agenda.

'We are contesting on 243 seats...The public has nothing to do with which party is contesting on how many seats. Chirag Paswan and other leaders have to tell how children will be educated in Bihar, how migration from Bihar will stop and how corruption will stop in Bihar?. The public has seen the NDA and UPA ...'

Bihar is expected to have its assembly elections later in the year. However, the Election Commission has not announced the dates as of yet. (ANI)