Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) faced a significant setback as 22 leaders resigned from the party, expressing their dissatisfaction over not receiving tickets for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This development comes shortly after the LJP forged a pre-poll alliance with the BJP.
The disgruntled leaders accused Chirag Paswan of "selling all Lok Sabha tickets" and announced their intention to support the Opposition INDIA bloc instead. Among those who resigned were former minister Renu Kushwaha, former MLA and LJP's national general secretary Satish Kumar, state organisation secretary Ravindra Singh, state general secretary Rajesh Dangi, and party leaders Ajay Kushwaha and Sanjay Singh.
Renu Kushwaha criticized Chirag Paswan for awarding tickets to "outsiders" instead of party workers, expressing frustration that deserving and hardworking individuals were overlooked. Satish Kumar stated that the rebel LJP leaders would now throw their support behind the INDIA bloc in the Lok Sabha elections, accusing Chirag Paswan of betraying the people of Bihar.
Similarly, Ravindra Singh alleged that Chirag Paswan had "sold the tickets," playing with the emotions of the people of Bihar. The rebel leaders asserted that they would seek to counter the decision by supporting the INDIA bloc.
The seat-sharing agreement between the BJP and the LJP, along with Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), was finalized on March 18, with the LJP slated to contest five of Bihar's 40 Lok Sabha seats. However, discontent within the party ranks surfaced shortly after, culminating in the resignations.
Bihar is set to conduct elections across all seven phases of the Lok Sabha polls from April 19 to June 1, with vote counting scheduled for June 4.
