An invitation to bring Paswans together was made during the BJP’s display of strength at the NDA meeting

In an effort to reunify Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and bring the two factions under one umbrella, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is targeting an uncontested majority in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, has invited several of its new allies as well as some former ones to the NDA meeting on Tuesday.

All NDA members have been called to Delhi by the BJP-led government as a show of force by the governing coalition on the same day as a major opposition meeting is held in Bengaluru, India’s southernmost city, to unify against the Modi administration.

For the second time in a week, Union Minister Nityanand Rai and Chirag Paswan met on Friday night. His party, the LJP(R), also distributed the letter of invitation sent to the young leader by BJP president JP Nadda, in which he referred to the regional party as a crucial member of the NDA and a crucial ally in the efforts of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government to advance the welfare and development of the underprivileged.

When his uncle Pashupati staged a takeover against him in 2021 and recruited a number of dissident MLAs to divide the party and start his own LJP group, the Paswan junior was formally expelled from the NDA. Since that time, the uncle and nephew team has found itself in a pickle over the Bihar seat of Hajipur that was formerly held by Chirag’s father, Ram Vilas Paswan.

Chirag Paswan is seen as having succeeded in keeping the party’s loyal vote base with him, whereas a split in the LJP led by his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, a current Union minister, weakened him. This indicates to the BJP his importance in a state where it is up against the formidable coalition of the RJD, JD(U), Congress, and the Left.

The fact that Nadda extended him an invitation shows how determined the BJP is to get him back after he abandoned the NDA in Bihar during the state assembly elections of 2020 to support the opposition against then-chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Uncle Paras, however, apparently declined the invitation. Pushupati Nath Paras said in an NDTV report that he had a “good talk” with Nityanand Rai but “I said not possible” when questioned about the opposing pair getting together. Pashupati said, “No matter how hard you try, you cannot make butter when things go wrong, when the milk curdles.

Mega Outreach by BJP
According to reports, the BJP president has also sent similar letters to other party leaders, including those that the governing party has contacted in advance of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

One of them is former chief minister of Bihar Jitan Ram Manjhi of the Hindustani Awam Morcha; according to his son Santosh Kumar Suman, he would attend the conference on July 18. He stated that Nadda had also extended an invitation to him.

Many new BJP partners are anticipated to attend the NDA summit, including the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the NCP section led by Ajit Pawar, various minor parties from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and regional parties from the northeastern regions.

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the conference, viewed as the BJP’s show of strength of the governing party, National Democratic Alliance, would also include Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

An NDA meeting of this size is taking place for the first time during the second term of the Modi administration after a number of longtime and significant BJP allies, including Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, the Shiromani Akali Dal, and the Janata Dal (United), severed ties with the party over a variety of issues.