The BJP has managed to win back an old ally in Ram Vilas Paswan and his Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) in Bihar.
BJP sources have indicated that sharing of seats has been finalised, and after much bargaining, the party has conceded seven seats to the Dalit leader from Bihar.
According to a prominent party leader from the state, Paswan commands a loyal vote bank of about 4.5% in Bihar, and with his joining the NDA fold, the BJP vote will benefit from this crucial vote. He explained that a swing of one per cent in Chhattisgarh had helped the party to come to power in the state. He expects the Paswan swing to boost the numbers for BJP in Bihar and takes its tally to near 30 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The BJP is not exactly sacrificing any of its own seats in this arrangement. In 2009, the party had contested 15 seats and won 12 of them. So far, the BJP has two partners — Upendra Kushwaha and his Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) and Paswan. Kushwaha will contest three seats, and with Paswan' taking seven, BJP would be conceding 10 seats. It will still have 30 seats of its own. The BJP expects Kushwaha to bring in three per cent of the most backward class (MBC) vote.
Though the BJP is quite confident of riding to victory in Bihar, more even than in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, it does not seem to want to leave anything to chance. It wants to garner all possible allies and votes to counter former ally Janata Dal (U) led by chief minister Nitish Kumar. It is also hopeful that a part, albeit small, of the Yadav vote, which remains largely loyal to Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Rahstriya Janata Dal (RJD), will come to the BJP because of the well-off Yadavs anger with Nitish Kumar.
These alliances did not happen without internal resistance. There was a strong view within the state unit of the party that the BJP could win all of the 40 seats on its own and it needed no allies. Party leaders had to convince the state rank and file to fall in line in the larger interest of the party. The resistance to the alliance with Paswan stemmed from the fear that they would have to sacrifice their own seats for the new ally.
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