LJP (Ram Vilas) to go it alone in UP Assembly polls

Patna, Dec 23 (IANS) After Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has decided to contest Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections alone.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting headed by national president Chirag Paswan in New Delhi on Wednesday evening.

"The LJP will contest the election without any alliance with other political parties. It will contest on all 403 seats," said Chandan Singh, Bihar state spokesperson of the party.

"During the meeting, Mani Shankar Pandey, state president of UP along with members of all executive Committee at district level of Uttar Pradesh were present. They have unanimously decided to go it alone and challenge the ruling BJP and Samajwadi party," Singh said.

In 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, LJP had contested on all 243 seats but managed to win only one. Following the dismal performance, other senior leaders, including current union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, MP Prince Raj Paswan, Bahubali leader Surajbhan Singh and others criticised the policies of Chirag Paswan and later split the party.

Though parties like LJP (Ram Vilas) or HAM are considered as parties of Dalit communities in Bihar, they would not have status more than "vote katwa" in Uttar Pradesh.

The political experts believe that these parties are ideal for BJP which is considered as party of upper castes in Uttar Pradesh. The presence of LJP(Ram Vilas) and HAM will cut the votes of Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Congress, which are dependent on Yadav, Muslim and Dalit voters.

Chandan Singh claimed that the party has organisational structure and strength in every district of Uttar Pradesh and is capable of contesting the election on its own.