Lok Sabha Elections 2024: In a message of unity as the NDA heads into Lok Sabha elections in Bihar, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan met state Chief Minister and JDU convenor Nitish Kumar at the latter's residence in Patna on Thursday (March 28). This was the first meeting between the two leaders after Nitish Kumar rejoined the NDA in January this year.
During the meet, Sanjay Jha and Samrat Choudhary were also present. Nitish Kumar is seen sharing a smile and holding Chirag's shoulders in the picture posted by Bihar BJP president Samrat Choudhary on X.
Nitish-Chirag relations in the past
The two leaders have shared a fairly sour relations in the past when Chirag Paswan slammed the chief minister on a number of occasions including when Nitish had crossed over to the RJD camp in August 2022, leaving the NDA government for the second time.
Chirag had said that Nitish Kumar "insulted" the people's mandate which was for the NDA in the Assembly polls in 2020. Chirag had also said that Nitish Kumar lost credibility and would draw a blank in the next polls.
However, after Nitish Kumar's return to the NDA folds in January this year, the leaders have gone soft on each other. They also formulated a seat-sharing formula, acceptable to both parties, for the Lok Sabha elections.
According to the seat sharing agreement, the BJP will contest on 17 seats, JDU 16, LJP (Ram Vilas) 5, Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) one seat each.
