Patna: Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced its seat-sharing formula for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, all eyes have been on Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s much-hyped “strike rate”. His party, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) or LJP (R), walked away with 29 assembly seats this time. Many believe his track record in the previous elections convinced the BJP to reward him so generously. But the real story behind Chirag’s strike rate is far more layered than it appears.

Party insiders say discontent runs deep among NDA partners. Soon after the seat-sharing announcement, JD(U) leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Hindustani Awan Morcha (HAM) leader and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Up

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