Nitish Kumar Visits Chirag Paswan’s House For Chhath Ritual In Show Of Unity Amid Bihar Polls

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday visited Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP-Ramvilas) chief Chirag Paswan’s residence in Patna and partook of Kharna prasad as part of Chhath Puja ritual, in a gesture that comes amid new political alignments and speculation over internal equations within Bihar’s ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Paswan shared photographs of the gathering in a post on X and expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for visiting him.

“Thank you, Honorable Chief Minister, for visiting my residence today and partaking in the Kharna Prasad. Heartfelt gratitude for meeting my family members during this time and extending best wishes for the Chhath Mahaparv,” Paswan wrote in his post, accompanied by pictures

of the meeting.

धन्यवाद माननीय मुख्यमंत्री जी, जो आज आप मेरे आवास पर आए और खरना का प्रसाद ग्रहण किया। इस दौरान मेरे परिवार के सदस्यों से मुलाकात कर छठ महापर्व की शुभकामनाएं देने के लिए हार्दिक आभार।@NitishKumar pic.twitter.com/hy1EbuqHFK

— युवा बिहारी चिराग पासवान (@iChiragPaswan) October 26, 2025

The photographs show Kumar with Paswan and his close family members, including mother Reena and brother-in-law Arun Bharti, the LJP(R) MP from Jamui, the Lok Sabha seat the Union Minister had represented twice before shifting base to Hajipur, his father’s pocket borough.

He also dismissed opposition’s claims of rift between the JD(U) and his party.

“I would especially like to thank CM Nitish Kumar ji, as on the second day of the Chhath festival he came and ate Prasad here. This holds great significance for me. Regarding seat sharing, there were narratives being set by the opposition suggesting that the CM was upset and there was tension between JDU and LJP… I want to clarify that this is not true; there has never been any problem between the two parties,” Paswan told news agency PTI.

VIDEO | Patna: Union Minister Chirag Paswan on Chhath Festival says: “I would especially like to thank CM Nitish Kumar ji, as on the second day of the Chhath festival he came and ate Prasad here. This holds great significance for me. Regarding seat sharing, there were narratives… pic.twitter.com/FdT3PooVYV

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 26, 2025

This year, the four-day Chhath festival, dedicated to Lord Surya (Sun), is being celebrated from October 25 to October 28. The festival began with Nahay-Khay on Saturday, followed by Kharna on Sunday, continues with Sandhya Arghya on Monday, and concludes with the Usha Arghya and Parana rituals on Tuesday.

The Chief Minister’s visit to the LJP chief’s house in the midst of the assembly elections demonstrates the NDA’s unity and quells rampant speculation about leadership conflicts within the NDA, following their past friction.

Earlier, Paswan affirmed the coalition’s leadership and said, “We are going to the elections under the leadership of Nitish Kumar ji, and Nitish Kumar ji, of course, will be the Chief Minister.”

In a recent interview, Paswan said that his party is contesting elections for the first time to make Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister. The LJP has never before contested elections in alliance with the JD(U).

Under the seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Bihar assembly polls, the JD(U) and the BJP will contest 101 seats each, while Paswan’s LJP (R) has been given 29 seats. The smaller allies, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) , will contest six seats each.

The elections to the Bihar Assembly will be conducted in two phases, covering all 243 constituencies in the state. The first phase of polling will take place on November 6 for 121 constituencies, while the second phase on November 11 will cover the remaining 122 constituencies. The counting of votes will be held on November 14.