Decision soon whether to fight Jharkhand assembly poll under NDA or alone: Chirag Paswan
New Delhi, Oct 7: Union minister Chirag Paswan on Monday said his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) wants to fight the assembly election in Jharkhand and a final decision will be taken soon on whether it would contest under the NDA alliance or alone.
Paswan said he met Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday where the upcoming state assembly election in Jharkhand was discussed. He said the meeting was very positive.
"I met Home Minister Amit Shah yesterday. We discussed the current political situation in the country and also the upcoming assembly elections. Jharkhand was also discussed," Paswan told reporters here on the sidelines of a FICCI event.
Paswan, who is the Union food processing minister, said his party did not fight the assembly elections in Haryana and J-K which were held recently, but supported the BJP.
"Jharkhand mein bhi meri soch yahi hai ki hum log NDA ke saath mil kar chunav ladein. (I am of the view that we should fight Jharkhand assembly election under the NDA alliance)," Paswan said, adding that a final decision will be taken in 2-4 days.
Elections to the 81-member Jharkhand assembly are due later this year, and the dates are expected to be announced soon.
"The state party unit wants to fight. Let's see, whether we fight under the alliance or alone, how the situation emerges. I had a very positive meeting with the Union Home Minister. The scenario will be clear within the next few days," he said.
Asked how many seats his party has sought, Paswan said he will not make it public, conforming with the coalition principles.
On exit poll results of Haryana and J-K, he expressed confidence that the NDA will form the government.
Regarding the demand for Bharat Ratna for his late father Ram Vilas Paswan from certain sections, the minister said as a son he has always wished for this honour.
"Koi cheez agar maang ke mili toh kya mili," Chirag said, adding that his father would "definitely one day get the respect he deserves and that too without seeking".
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Last rites' of INDIA bloc: BJP on Cong-DMK fallout in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday took a swipe at the Congress for extending support to Vijay's TVK in forming the government in Tamil Nadu and breaking away from its long term ally DMK, saying the party has a history of "betraying" its allies.
The saffron party also attacked the opposition INDIA bloc, claiming the alliance is "falling apart like a pack of cards" and lacks any common ideology or vision.
The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to support TVK leader Vijay in forming a secular government in the state, sources said.
The decision to support the TVK was taken at an urgent meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Tamil Nadu Congress late on Tuesday night.
Reacting to the development, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the INDIA alliance had effectively come to an end after the declaration of assembly election results on May 4.
"There is nobody whom the Congress has not deceived. Imagine what they will do to the Samajwadi Party if they have done this to the DMK," he wrote in a post on X.
Calling it the "last rites" of the INDIA bloc, Poonawalla, in a video post, said, "It has become a Bharat free of the DMK, TMC and the Left, and now Congress has dumped the DMK for the TVK."
The BJP spokesperson alleged that the opposition bloc was formed solely out of political compulsions and personal ambitions.
"The INDI alliance never had any mission or vision. It was only about ambition for position, corruption, commission and obsession against Modi ji that they came together. But now it is all falling apart like a pack of cards," he said.
Questioning the unity of the opposition parties, Poonawalla said the alliance was absent in several states during the election.
"Where was the INDI alliance in Bengal, in Kerala, in Gujarat, in Punjab, in Delhi, in Haryana, in Karnataka? There is no INDI alliance," he said.
The DMK on Wednesday described the Congress move to extend support to TVK as a "backstab" by its long-time national ally.
Speaking to PTI videos, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Anadurai said, "The Congress party has decided to ally with the TVK, pledging their support to the party. I think they have backstabbed... They have backstabbed the people of Tamil Nadu. They've backstabbed the mandate given by the people of Tamil Nadu."
He said that the decision came even before the electoral process had fully concluded.
"Even before the ink on the returning officer's signature on the victory certificate dried up, they've chosen to go ahead with an alliance," he said.
Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.
The Congress has won five seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each. The outgoing ruling party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has won 47 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only one seat, and so have the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK), while the VCK has won two seats.
The Congress had fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.
