Union Minister Chirag Paswan has turned up the pressure on the BJP ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. Speaking in Varanasi on Thursday, November 5, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief said his party hopes to fight the polls as part of the NDA, but will field candidates on all 403 seats if alliance talks fail.
The remark, made on the day of a public rally in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency, signals that the Bihar-based party wants a real share of seats in India's most politically important state.
What Chirag Paswan said
Paswan made it clear that no deal has been struck yet. "Formal discussions regarding an alliance have not yet begun," he told ANI. He said his preference was to go with the NDA, but added: "If an alliance cannot be formed, then the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will likely field its own candidates."
At the same time, he stressed that his party's ties with the BJP-led alliance remain intact elsewhere. "In Bihar, I am in an alliance with the NDA," he said. "I am part of an alliance at the central level."
This was not a one-off comment. Two days earlier in Patna, on November 3, Paswan had said the party was "100 per cent prepared" and ready to contest all 403 seats independently if needed. During a visit to Lucknow in October, he had said the party had already identified its priority "A category" seats in the state.
Swipe at Akhilesh Yadav and the opposition
Paswan also targeted Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who has said he will not personally contest the Assembly election. "I found this quite unusual," Paswan said, asking whether Yadav was "afraid of defeat" or worried about his party's performance. A leader, he said, should lead from the front.
He accused the opposition of winning votes in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by "spreading lies" that the Constitution and reservations were under threat, and said that strategy would not work in Assembly polls. At the Varanasi rally, according to UNI, he told supporters: "As long as I live, I will not allow reservation and the Constitution to be harmed."
LJP(RV) at a glance
| Party chief | Chirag Paswan, Union Minister |
| Lok Sabha 2024 | Won all 5 seats contested in Bihar |
| Bihar Assembly 2025 | 19 seats won |
| Nagaland 2023 | 2 seats, state party status |
| UP 2022 (undivided LJP) | No seats, 0.01% vote share |
| UP seats at stake | 403 |
| Next party event | Foundation day, Lucknow, November 28 |
Why Uttar Pradesh matters to Paswan
The LJP has never been a major force in Uttar Pradesh. The undivided party won one seat in 2002 and none in 2007, 2012 or 2022, when it polled just 0.01% of the vote according to Election Commission data. But Chirag Paswan's party is on a winning streak in Bihar, where it won all five Lok Sabha seats it contested in 2024 and 19 Assembly seats in 2025.
In UP, the party is reportedly looking to reach non-Jatav Dalit voters, especially the Pasi community. Scheduled Castes make up around 21% of the state's population, and the Jatav community has traditionally backed Mayawati's BSP.
A crowded NDA in UP
The BJP already has three allies in Uttar Pradesh: Apna Dal, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and the Nishad Party. The SBSP has publicly warned the BJP against bringing Bihar-based allies such as LJP(RV) and JD(U) into the state, and the JD(U) has also shown interest in UP. Any seat for Paswan would likely come from a limited pool, which is why his "all 403 seats" message is being read as a bargaining move.
What it means for voters
For UP voters, Paswan's entry could add another player in the battle for Dalit votes, which are split between the BSP, SP and BJP. Even a small vote share in close seats could change results, which is why allies' demands matter to the BJP.
What happens next
The next markers are formal NDA seat-sharing talks in Uttar Pradesh and the LJP(RV)'s foundation day event in Lucknow on November 28, where Paswan could spell out his plans in more detail. The UP Assembly elections are expected in early 2027. Responses from the BJP and its existing UP allies will show whether there is room for one more partner.
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