After the NDA and Chirag Paswan secure the agreement for Bihar, Pashupati Paras steps down from the Union cabinet

NEW DELHI: Pashupati Kumar Paras, the head of the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party and a Union minister, resigned from the NDA-led cabinet on Tuesday, one day after the BJP finalised an agreement on seat sharing in Bihar.
Pashupati Kumar Paras expressed his dissatisfaction at not receiving a seat in the next Lok Sabha election, saying, “The NDA coalition released the list of 40 candidates for the Bihar Lok Sabha yesterday.There were five MPs in our party, and I worked very hard.

We and our party have been the victims of injustice. I therefore tender my resignation as Union Minister.”
The event follows the NDA’s allocation of five Lok Sabha seats to Chirag Paswan, the estranged nephew of Paras.
The National Democratic Alliance said the BJP would compete for 17 seats, the JD (U) 16 seats, and Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) 5 seats. This was the final seat-sharing agreement for the Lok Sabha elections.
Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rastriya Lok Morcha, headed by Upendra Kushwaha, are two more NDA allies that will compete for one seat each.
Notably, this would be the first time the BJP has won more seats in Bihar than the JD (U), headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, highlighting the shift in their dynamics since their merger a few months ago.
The NDA, which is made up of the Bharatiya Janata Dal United, Lok Janshakti Party, and the Indian National Congress, won 39 out of 40 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Mahagathbandhan, on the other hand, only succeeded in winning one seat. It was headed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Indian National Congress, and the Rastriya Lok Samta Party.
The Bihar Lok Sabha elections of 2024 are scheduled to occur in seven stages, beginning on April 19 and ending on June 1.