CVoter Survey: Chirag Paswan's entry to boost BJP/NDA in Bihar

The re-entry of young Dalit leader Chirag Paswan to the NDA fold will benefit the NDA during the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections in Bihar.

This was revealed during an exclusive survey conducted by CVoter with a sample size of 4,029 to gauge public opinion on changing political equations in the country.

According to the CVoter survey, a little over 50 per cent of the respondents are of the opinion that the return of Chirag Paswan will help the BJP.

In contrast, close to 37 per cent feel that his return will harm the BJP. There is a stark difference between respondents who support the NDA and those who are in favour of the opposition parties.

While two thirds of the respondents who support the NDA think Chirag Paswan will benefit the BJP, about four out of every ten respondents who support the opposition share the same opinion.

As a matter of fact, about 45 per cent of the respondents who support opposition parties are of the opinion that the return of Paswan will harm the BJP.

Chirag Paswan, a Lok Sabha MP, is the son of late Ram Vilas Paswan who founded the Lok Janshakti Party in Bihar.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the LJP was allotted six seats to contest as an NDA alliance partner and won all six of them.

After the death of Ram Vilas Paswan, there was a rift in the LJP and Chirag Paswan was ousted in a family coup as the head of LJP by his uncle Paras Paswan.

On July 18, 2023, after protracted talks, Chirag Paswan returned to the NDA fold. In the run up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is stitching up alliances with smaller regional parties.

In Bihar, the JD(U) led by Nitish Kumar which was in NDA during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is now in the opposition camp as an ally of the RJD and the Congress.