With the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) looking to bounce back from its 2024 Lok Sabha election setback in Uttar Pradesh by regaining the support of Pasi and Paswan voters in the run-up to the 2027 assembly polls, the Lok Janshkati Party (Ram Vilas) led by Union minister for food processing industries Chirag Paswan is fine-tuning the P3 (Pasi-Paswan- Pandit) formula to expand its support base in the state.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the shift of Pasi and Paswan votes to the SP-Congress alliance led to the NDA’s defeat in several constituencies in Central and East UP, including Mohanlalganj, Dhaurhara, Sitapur, Kheri, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Faizabad and Shravasti.
The LJP (Ram Vilas), a Bihar-based BJP ally, has now planned a series of Dalit Chaupals and Dalit Panchayats across Uttar Pradesh. The focus will be on Pasi and Paswan-dominated constituencies to counter the ‘PDA’ (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) narrative.
After strengthening the organisation, the LJP (Ram Vilas) plans to field candidates in the UP assembly election, said the party’s state in-charge Arun Bharti.
“The focus is on 104 assembly seats where Pasi and Paswan votes are decisive. The Lok Janshkati Party is working to strengthen its organisation in these assembly constituencies. The meetings of the party chief Chirag Paswan will be organised across UP,” he said.
In Bihar, the LJP (RV) contested the election in alliance with the BJP. In UP too, the party chief will decide on contesting the election as NDA ally or going solo, Bharti said.
The NDA, which plans to utilise Chirag Paswan’s charisma in the UP polls, held meetings in Kaushambi and Sitapur districts on Thursday and Friday under the leadership of Arun Bharti, who is also the party MP from Jamui in Bihar.
Bharti said his party played a pivotal role in defeat of the RJD-led INDIA bloc in the 2025 Bihar assembly polls and plans to replicate the Bihar experiment in Uttar Pradesh in 2027.
The LJP (RV) won five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in 2024 and 19 assembly seats in 2025, demonstrating its hold over the Dalit community.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the SP-Congress alliance misguided the Dalits on reservation and Constitution amendment issues to get their vote, he added.
“Along with highlighting the NDA government’s welfare and social security schemes, we are urging the Dalits not to fall into the trap of Opposition parties, who are interested in their votes but not in their empowerment,” he said.
The party has divided the state into four zones — East UP, West UP, Central UP and the Bundelkhand region – to strengthen the organisation before the assembly elections.
