Chirag Paswan redefines "MY" equation, focuses on empowering women and youth in Bihar

Patna (Bihar) [India], October 19 : Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chrag Paswan on Sunday redefined the "MY" equation to focus on empowering women and youth in Bihar. Under his "Bihar First, Bihari First" vision, Paswan emphasised the importance of prioritising the state's development.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, Chirag highlighted the crucial role of women in Bihar's development, emphasising their empowerment and participation in decision-making processes.
He also stressed the need to harness the energy and potential of Bihar's youth, providing them with education, skills, and employment opportunities to drive the state's progress.
Redefining the agenda of his "Bihar First Bihari First" vision, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan explained that under his agenda ', MY' equation stands for Mahilayein and Youth.
Paswan's agenda focuses on overall development, moving beyond caste divisions and emphasising the importance of youth and women in achieving a "Viksit Bihar".
Paswan criticised other youth leaders for viewing youth through the lens of caste and religion, whereas his approach is inclusive and focused on development.
"When I talk about 'Bihar First-Bihari First,' it means overall development, unlike other youth leaders who talk about youth but view them through caste divisions. They see Muslim youth as different and Yadav youth as different. When I talk about 'MY equation,' 'M' stands for 'mahilayein' (women) and 'Y' stands for youth. I believe both face similar issues. I am moving forward with the idea of 'Bihar First - Bihari First,' where we can progress toward building a 'Viksit Bihar'", Chirag Paswan told ANI.
In the Bihar Assembly elections, two key alliances are presenting different interpretations of the 'MY' formula to woo voters. The Mahagathbandhan led by RJD is banking on its traditional stronghold of Muslim and Yadav voters, while the NDA, comprising the BJP and JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas) is focusing on Mahila (women) and Yuva (youth) to drive its campaign.
Chirag's party, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), is contesting on 29 seats, the same number of seats his father won in the February 2005 assembly elections. Paswan attributes this to manifestations and spiritual connections.
"I believe in manifestations and stay spiritually connected; I believe in all these signals. It cannot be a mere coincidence that after all the negotiations, my party is contesting elections on 29 seats, and my father also won elections on 29 seats," Paswan told ANI.
Notably, the Lok Janshakti Party, led by Ram Vilas Paswan, won 29 seats during the 2005 Bihar Assembly polls as an ally of Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief noted that his party is exploring legal options for one seat where its candidate's nomination was rejected due to human error. The Election Commission rejected its candidate Seema Singh's nomination.
He stressed that he would try his best not just for his party but for the whole National Democratic Alliance towards achieving a 100 per cent strike rate in the Bihar polls.
"We are having a discussion with the Election Commission regarding one seat, on which Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) candidate Seema Singh's nomination papers were rejected, and we are exploring legal options. It was a human error that led to her nomination papers being rejected. I will try my best, not only for my party but for the whole alliance, to achieve a 100 per cent strike rate in the upcoming Bihar elections," Paswan said.
He also launched a scathing attack on the Mahagathbandhan, highlighting their unresolved seat-sharing arrangements, and mentioned that if they are unable to resolve the confusion within the alliance, then how can they work towards the development of Bihar?
"If the Mahagathbandhan is not able to resolve confusion within the alliance, how will they work for the development of the people of Bihar? The public has faith in the NDA," he added.
Paswan further expressed confidence in the NDA's prospects, noting that while he previously spoke of achieving 225 seats in Bihar based on hard work alone, the opposition's current crisis could give his alliance an additional advantage.
"I believe that perhaps our performance will turn out to be even better than we ever imagined. Until now, we were measuring ourselves based on our hard work. When I used to talk about crossing the figure of 225, we were relying on our efforts to achieve it. Now, in the way the opposition has become complacent, the advantage of that will also go to us," Paswan added.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) announced its first list of 14 candidates for the Bihar elections on October 14 and later released its second list of 15 candidates on October 16.
The 2025 Bihar Elections will have the main contest between the National Democratic Alliance and the Mahagathbandhan.
NDA includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha, meanwhile the Mahagathbandhan led by Rashtriya Janata Dal include Congress party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI-ML) led by Deepankar Bhattacharya, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), and Mukesh Sahani's Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP).
Additionally, Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj has also staked claims on all 243 seats of the state.
Meanwhile, polling in the Bihar 2025 elections is scheduled to take place on November 6 and 11, respectively, while the results will be declared on November 14.