Patna: Asserting that vote bank of rival parties had "ruptured" in Bihar, Lok Janshakti Party president and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today claimed NDA will form a government in the state "with two-third majority" in the Assembly polls due later this year.
"Whether it is due to JD(U) rebels led by Jitan Ram Manjhi or RJD dissidents led by Pappu Yadav, the vote bank of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad has ruptured.
NDA's vote bank is neutral and united.
We will form a government with two-third majority here after elections, which will be possibly held in September-October," Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan Paswan told reporters.
Dismissing reports on a tussle among NDA constituents over Chief Ministerial candidate and seat-sharing in the coming elections, Paswan said his party would "accept and support whoever the BJP announces as the CM candidate." "With regard to seat-sharing, all three NDA constituents in Bihar - BJP, LJP and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) will decide on it together when the time comes.
Our sole aim will be to win all seats that we contest," he said.
The LJP chief was talking to reporters at his party headquarters here where his actor-turned-politician son and Jamui MP Chirag Paswan was also present.
Meanwhile, commenting on the merger of six Janata Parivar parties, Paswan said he had always held it was just a merger of batons and not of parties.
"Now all of them have started wielding their sticks.Nobody is willing to accept Nitish Kumar as the leader here. RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh is already saying his party will contest 145 out of 243 Assembly seats here," he said.
The Union Minister also said that Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has been authorised by the six Janata Parivar parties including JD(U), RJD, JD(S), SJP and INLD, would not be ready for the merger as he "understands it will complicate matters and create problems".
Reacting to speculations that the Congress would contest the Bihar elections on its own, Paswan said he had nothing to say on internal matters of other parties, but added "Why only Congress? Even Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad will fight polls on their own if the Janata Parivar merger does not work."
While, attacking the RJD and JD(U) further, the Union Minister said the "future of Prasad in politics was already over, while that of Kumar will come to an end after the Assembly polls in the state."
Paswan alleged that Kumar was conducting a malicious campaign against the Centre on being stopped from visiting Nepal in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in the neighbouring country on April 25.
"Kumar is wrongly accusing the Centre over this for political benefits. Nepal was in shambles and the administration there was busy in relief and rescue operations, so nobody was allowed to go there. Earlier also he was stopped from going there during the tenure of the UPA government," he said.
Paswan said state LJP president Pasupati Kumar Paras has been authorised to decide on the upcoming Bihar Legislative Council polls for 24 seats and the Assembly elections later on.
Speaking on the occasion, Paras staked claim on six Council seats including Hajipur, Munger-Jamui, Samastipur, Madhubani, Supaul and Nalanda.
