Pashupati Kumar Paras, who was holding the Ministery of Food Processing Industries in the Union cabinet on Tuesday ended his alliance with the NDA and resigned. The Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) chief was upset with the BJP leadership for not giving "due preference" to his party on the issue of seat-sharing in Bihar for the Lok Sabha polls and said the BJP leadership should reconsider its decision.
"I have sent my resignation. NDA seats were announced. I am still thankful to the Prime Minister but injustice was done to me and my party," he said.
He is the uncle of Chirag Paswan and brother of the late Ram Vilas Paswan and has been a member of Lok Sabha from Hajipur since 2019.
Paras said that his party has fulfilled its "friendship" with the BJP so far. "We will wait for the official announcement of candidates by the BJP and then take a decision," he said. Paras' remarks come two days after Paswan announced that his party has finalised a seat-sharing formula with the BJP for the Lok Sabha polls and all his "concerns" were addressed.
Chirag Paswan's LJP gets 5 seats
The NDA on March 18 finalised its seat-sharing formula in Bihar for Lok Sabha elections, announcing the BJP will contest 17 constituencies, the JD(U) 16 and Chirag Paswan's LJP (Ram Vilas) five. Bihar LJP (Ram Vilas) chief Raju Tiwari said Chirag Paswan will contest the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat, which has been given to the party under the seat-sharing pact for the 2024 polls.
