This time, both RJD and Congress were not willing to spare more than 4-5 seats to LJP and Paswan was not ready to accept that because he needed 4 seats for his own family – Paswan himself, son Chirag Paswan, brothers Ramchandra Paswan and Pashupati Kumar Paras. He had to adjust his core supporters like Surajbhan Singh and Rama Singh as well.
The BJP, that has high expectations from Bihar this time, lost no time in offering Paswan a helping hand and clinched the deal with LJP offering Paswan a total of 7 seats. The BJP had nothing to lose as the party had not done well on the seats that Paswan was asking for. The alliance with Paswan has helped BJP in cementing what is called opposition index.
But the game changer was something else. More than Paswan's desperation to get back into corridors of power, it was the emergence of his son Chirag Paswan as the key decision maker in LJP that paved the way for BJP-LJP alliance.
Chirag, who failed to make it big in Bollywood, has finally decided to join the family business of politics. At a young age, he has been made chairman of LJP's parliamentary board.
Unlike Paswan, he carries no ideological baggage and has no problem in playing ball with Modi. Chirag is convinced that there is a Modi wave in the country as well as in Bihar and he does not want to miss the bus. He persuaded Paswan to abandon the sinking ship of Congress and RJD and board Modi's jet.