New Delhi: The LJP (Ram Vilas) will contest the upcoming Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly polls, party president Chirag Paswan announced on Monday.
The party is, however, yet to take a decision on the number of seats it will contest in the two poll-bound states, he said.
The decision to join the poll fray in the two BJP-ruled states was taken at a national executive meeting of the party after a resolution was unanimously passed in this regard, Paswan added.
"The party has decided to contest the Gujarat and the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls. We will soon take a decision on the number of seats that the party will contest in Gujarat and on the list of candidates," he said at a press conference here.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) will appoint its Himachal Pradesh in-charge later in the day and subsequently, take a decision on the list of candidates, Paswan said.
Polling for the Himachal Pradesh assembly will be held in a single phase on November 12 and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 8. The Election Commission is yet to announce the dates for the Gujarat polls. Paswan, son of Dalit leader and LJP founder late Ram Vilas Paswan, said his party's national executive members discussed at length its national expansion plan, among other issues, at the meeting.
"Last two years were very tough for me and my party both. Various forces, who tried to stop my leader (Ram Vilas Paswan) from growing when he was alive, tried to do the same with me as well after he left. They broke my party," Paswan said, without naming anyone.
After two years of struggle and hardwork, the LJP (Ram Vilas) has succeeded in setting up its units in most of states, and work to further strengthen and increase its support base is underway, he said.
"While we have decided to join the poll fray in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh this year, we have plans to field our candidates in future assembly polls to be held in other states, wherever our party is strong," Paswan said.
Asked about his future plans, he said expansion of his party to various states and strengthening its support base is his prime focus.
"We will take a decision on whether our party should join any alliance or not when the time comes," he said.
Paswan said six resolutions were unanimously passed at the national executive meeting which included demand for conferring Bharat Ratna on late Ram Vilas Paswan.
"Our leader Ram Vilas Paswan devoted his life for more than 50 years in protecting the interests of the downtrodden, exploited, backward and minority communities as well as poor and weaker sections of society," he said.
"The LJP (Ram Vilas) demands that the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi confer Bharat Ratna on him to honour his contributions," Paswan said.
The party's national executive also demanded that late Ram Vilas Paswan's statue be installed in every state, he added.
Setting up of a National Youth Commission and launch of the Indian Judicial Services to ensure representation of people belonging to socially and economically weaker sections in the judiciary were among other demands that the party's national executive reiterated in its resolution passed at the meeting, Paswan said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)