NEW DELHI: Union minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday said the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) plans to contest the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, adding that the party’s central parliamentary board would give the final approval in this regard.“LJP (Ram Vilas) intends to contest elections in Uttar Pradesh. The nature of the alliance, its form and the number of seats on which we will contest will be decided by the state unit. The final approval will be given by the central parliamentary board,” Paswan told reporters in Lucknow.He said the party was focused on expanding its organisational base across the country, including in Uttar Pradesh.“In the coming days, the party is moving forward with the vision of expansion. We are working to strengthen the organisation across the country. With the same vision, the party aims to strengthen its organisation in Uttar Pradesh as well,” he added.Uttar Pradesh has been governed by the BJP since 2017. LJP (Ram Vilas) is a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre and in Bihar.The BJP will seek a third consecutive term in the state when Uttar Pradesh goes to the polls in February-March 2027.Meanwhile, Paswan also announced that LJP (Ram Vilas) would celebrate the birth anniversary of its founder, Ram Vilas Paswan, in Lucknow this year.“Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has taken this decision that the birth anniversary celebration of our party’s founder, my father Ram Vilas Paswan, will be observed this year in Lucknow,” Paswan announced.Ram Vilas Paswan died in October 2020, aged 74, after a prolonged illness and heart surgery. He served as Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution in the Narendra Modi government and had also held ministerial positions in previous NDA governments.(With ANI inputs)
