Ram Vilas Paswan

Patna, June 18: “We would be building our homes in the coming Lok Sabha polls,” said Union minister of steel and LJP president Ram Vilas Paswan today, adding: “We go alone to the polls.”

If one probes deeper into the leader’s sentences, one could find clues to the Dalit leader’s strategy in the run-up to the polls due within a year.

“Paswan is the tallest claimant of Dalit votes. And he wants to keep the pressure on both the RJD and the NDA to come forth with more seats for his party. He will finally go with the one which turns up with the bigger offer,” said a leader.

Paswan, whose party has four MPs in the Lok Sabha, has already identified 17 seats to field LJP nominees.

“We have identified 17 seats and our party has begun preparations to fight,” said Paswan, while talking exclusively to The Telegraph.

“Lalu Prasad-led RJD is there with its share of votes in the state, so is Nitish Kumar… But Ram Vilas Paswan and the LJP are also here with its sizeable quota. Our vote bank has swelled beyond the Dalit ranks,” Paswan added in measured tones.

In a way, he clearly indicated that neither the UPA, nor the NDA camp, could afford to ignore him in the polls. Alone, he would barely make a dent, but trends indicate that LJP as a political ally has proved to be beneficial for all.

For instance, he aligned with the NDA in 1999 Lok Sabha polls which won over 15 seats out of the 40 in united Bihar, reducing RJD to eight. In 2004, Paswan switched to UPA in Bihar reversing the trend. This, time UPA won 30 seats reducing BJP and RJD in single digits.

The NDA is said to be euphoric this time for it has registered victory on all Lok Sabha and Assembly seats that went to polls with Nitish Kumar in saddle since November 2005. But, then Paswan simply wants the two “prime political combinations” to “appreciate” his party’s capability to “tilt the balance” by stating: “Our LJP is also here with its sizeable quota.”

Though Paswan stressed that his party would go alone if need be, he did not attack either Lalu Prasad or Nitish Kumar directly. His only complaint against Lalu was that he was “ditched by” Lalu. “I do not wish to get ditched all the time,” he said.