Chirag Paswan’s Party Wins 19 Of 28 Seats Contested
Once written off after winning just one seat in 2020, the LJP (RV) has now emerged as a significant player, becoming the fourth-largest party in Bihar in 2025: Reports
NEW DELHI: NDA constituent Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), led by 43-year-old Chirag Paswan, improved its strike rate in the Bihar elections, leading in 19 of the 28 seats it contested. In comparison, RJD chief and Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc’s chief ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav was leading in just 25 of the 143 seats his party contested.
Once written off after winning just one seat in 2020, the LJP (RV) has now emerged as a significant player, becoming the fourth-largest party in Bihar in 2025. Its strong performance has brought Paswan and his party to the centrestage of Bihar politics, establishing them as a force to reckon with.
In the 2020 Assembly polls, the LJP (RV), then outside the NDA, contested 137 seats but secured only one victory. Paswan’s aggressive campaign against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar split the JD(U) vote, causing its tally to drop from 71 seats in 2015 to 43 in 2020, a decline widely attributed to the LJP (RV).
As of the filing of this report, the LJP (RV) had won 12 seats and was leading in seven more of the 28 it contested, consolidating its position within the ruling alliance. Notably, 17 of these seats were previously held by the Opposition Mahagathbandhan in 2020, giving the NDA fresh gains and helping it cross the 200-seat mark.
After internal turmoil and a split with his uncle Pashupati Nath Paras, Paswan rebuilt the party and launched the “Bihar First, Bihari First” campaign. In last year’s general election, he rejoined the NDA and won all five Lok Sabha seats his party contested, achieving a 100 per cent strike rate. He later joined the Narendra Modi government as a Cabinet minister.
Paswan, who had earlier said his differences were only with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and not with the BJP or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, avoided making any such confrontationist statements this time. Following the party’s impressive performance, he said he firmly believed that Mr. Kumar would continue as Chief Minister.
The LJP (RV) chief attributed the Opposition’s defeat to the “arrogance” of the Tejashwi Yadav-Rahul Gandhi-led alliance and said that the NDA’s victory reflected the people’s “faith in the unity of NDA partners.”
“I firmly believe that Nitish Kumar will remain the Chief Minister of Bihar. Arrogance is the cause of the Opposition’s humiliating loss, and it is the sole factor behind their downfall,” he said.
“Our overwhelming victory is the result of the strength of the double-engine government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Bihar. The people of Bihar have reposed complete faith in the unity of the NDA partners, which has led to this win,” he added.