Chirag Paswan is hoping that his solo gamble pays off.
Chirag Paswan, after voting in the second round of the Bihar election today, said he "could give in writing" that Nitish Kumar will never be Chief Minister again.
The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader, who is contesting separately from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the election but insists that his alliance with the BJP is intact, also said the people of the state had given their blessings for a "Nitish-free Bihar".
"You can get me to give you in writing that Nitish Kumar will never again be the Chief Minister after November 10. I will have no role to play, I want 'Bihar first, Bihari first'. I want work to be done as per the vision document prepared by the suggestions of four lakh Biharis," Chirag Paswan told news agency ANI.
He also pitched for his party in a series of tweets in which he said for years, people from Bihar had hesitated to call themselves Bihari because of the state's decline.
"After the first phase of polling, the fear of defeat in Nitish Kumar ji is not hidden from anyone. People have rejected him. I appeal to all not to let the vote go wasted. People have given blessings for a change in Bihar. Nitish-free Bihar...Bihar first Bihari first," Mr Paswan tweeted.
"In the last 15 years, Bihar has gone from notorious to pathetic. There is no improvement in the situation of migration, unemployment and floods. Teachers and children are living in gloom. Migrants from Bihar hesitate to call themselves Bihari. Democracy has given the opportunity to change its fate," the LJP MP wrote in Hindi.
In its ''Bihar first Bihari first'' vision document for the Bihar polls, the LJP has made several promises including the construction of a Sita temple at Sitamarhi "bigger than the Ram Temple" in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.
Chirag Paswan is hoping that his solo gamble pays off and his party wins enough seats to emerge as an alternative for the BJP to Nitish Kumar, a five-time chief minister facing anti-incumbency after 15 years in power. The LJP has mostly fielded candidates against Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United.
Bihar started voting on October 28 for a new government. After today, the final round of voting is on Saturday. The results will be declared on November 10.