BJP Ally Chirag Paswan's UP Ambitions, Citing Nagaland: 'Can Contest All 403 Seats If No Pact'

Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan said on Thursday that his party would possibly field candidates for all 403 seats in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections if it could not work out an alliance with the ruling BJP-led NDA. He cited Nagaland, where the party contested alone in 2023 and won two seats.

"Formal discussions regarding an alliance have not yet begun. If a consensus is reached within an alliance, which is what we hope for, and things proceed accordingly, that would be a positive development," he told reporters in Varanasi.

"To me, it is very clear that I have an alliance at the Centre; I have an alliance with the NDA in Bihar. We fought the elections in alliance at the Centre as well," Paswan added.

"But Nagaland is an example where I contested the elections without an alliance. I have two MLAs in Nagaland. If an alliance cannot be worked out, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will possibly contest candidates on all 403 seats," he said.

Paswan attended an event at a local college organised by the party as part of its ongoing political outreach in UP.

The remarks on the alliance's fate repeated the position Paswan set out in Patna on Tuesday. He also said he expected the LJP(RV) to establish itself as a strong contender and alternative as the elections approached, and announced that the party's foundation day would be celebrated in Lucknow on November 28.

In Lucknow last month, Paswan said the party had identified its priority and "A category" seats in Uttar Pradesh but declined to reveal how many it was seeking, saying it would be unfair to alliance partners to make the details public.

The LJP(RV) draws its core support in Bihar from the Dalit Paswan community. In Uttar Pradesh, its push has in the past been aimed at Dalit voters outside the Jatav community, with a particular focus on the Pasi community. The Jatavs have traditionally backed Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party. Dalits or Scheduled Castes make up about 21 per cent of Uttar Pradesh's population. The BJP has had a similar focus, while the Samajwadi Party is trying that too.

Chirag Paswan's party's own record in Uttar Pradesh is thin. Under Chirag's father, Ram Vilas Paswan, the undivided LJP won a single seat in the 2002 Assembly polls. It contested some seats in 2007 and 2012 but drew a blank. In the last polls in 2022, the LJP(RV) got zero seats and 0.01% of the total votes, according to Election Commission data.

The party's strength lies in Bihar. In the 2025 assembly elections, it won 19 seats with a strike rate of 66 per cent. It also won all five seats it fought in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In Nagaland in 2023, it won Pughoboto and Tobu and received state-party status with around 9 per cent of the vote.

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP already has at least three allies: Apna Dal, SBSP and the Nishad Party. The assembly elections are expected in February-March 2027.

(with ANI inputs)