Union Minister and LJP leader Chirag Paswan spoke exclusively to News 24, sharing his candid views on a range of topics. News 24’s Deputy Editor Sanjeev Trivedi asked him questions on Bihar’s final voter list, the opposition’s allegations of vote theft, the Election Commission’s role in Bihar- SIR, Prashant Kishor’s accusations, and seat-sharing in the NDA, to which Chirag responded directly.
Chirag speaks on seat-sharing in Bihar
Replying to questions on the Bihar Assembly elections 2025, NDA seat-sharing, and alliance politics, Chirag Paswan said final allocation of seats has not yet been decided. He said the seat sharing decision will not be made between two parties, but among all five NDA allies. Referring to his party’s alliance with BJP, Chirag Paswan said his party has been an ally of BJP since 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
In 2015 Bihar assembly elections, LJP contested elections as part of BJP alliance, but in 2020, due to some differences, the LJP decided to contest the elections alone. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, LJP had contested on five seats and it won all. He said it reflects the NDA alliance is strong and based on trust.
Chirag speaks on Bihar’s final voter list
Chirag took questions on the SIR, draft voter list, and final voter list in Bihar. The union minister said there were a total of 74.2 million voters in Bihar, of which 4.7 million names have now been removed.
He said the Opposition is accusing ‘vote theft’, but they have failed to provide any concrete evidence or complaint before the Election Commission of India.
He said the Election Commission prepares the voter list, which is an autonomous body. There could be several reasons behind the removal of 4.7 million names, as a few citizens were named in the voter list of two states, and some people are no more or and a few have migrated to other places or countries. Names of Illegal immigrants may also have been removed, while the first-time voters would have been included.
Chirag takes a dig at Opposition
The LJP chief took a jibe at the opposition over their stance on Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and voter list. He said the process of SIR has been conducted correctly, and the opposition parties are playing politics.. He said the opposition used to allege that there was manipulation in the voter list, and when the Election Commission has adopted a process of updation, the opposition is raising questions.
Chirag said if the opposition has evidence, it should approach the election Commission with it. He said merely making statements is not right. He said the opposition has made ‘vote list’ a new issue once the EVM issue died down. He said in 2020, NDA was not united, and it gave an advantage to the opposition. If the NDA had remained united, parties like the RJD would have never emerged stronger.
Chirag’s response on the possibility of being Ignored in seat-sharing
When the LJP chief was asked about any possibility of not getting a seat in alliance, Chirag said if lentils are cooked without salt, they won’t taste good. He said similarly there should be balance in alliance. Excess of salt in food becomes poison, he added. The LJP leader said balance is necessary in seat sharing.
Chirag Paswan on Prashant Kishor’s allegations
While replying to accusations by Prashant Kishor against several NDA leaders, Chirag Paswan said Prashant Kihor’s allegations were timed with elections. He said the opposition wants to change the narrative. He said the leaders against whom the allegations have been levelled are competent to defend themselves and a few leaders have filed defamation cases.
Answering on his party’s MP name has also surfaced in the allegations, Chirag said he is capable of putting his side and it is upto the people who will decide whom to trust.
