Union Food Processing Industries Minister Chirag Paswan met Bharatiya Janata Party president J.P. Nadda in New Delhi on Thursday, discussing preparations for the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections, Paswan said in a post after the meeting. Soon after the talks, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief publicly criticised the JD(U)-led Bihar government, saying the “morale of criminals is sky-high” and that rising crime ahead of the polls was a matter of “grave concern.” Paswan’s remarks followed the killing of JD(U) leader Rajkishor Nishad in Khagaria earlier in the day and the shooting of a parolee in Patna this week, incidents that have intensified scrutiny of law and order in the state. The comments underline strains within the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar, where the BJP and LJP(RV) are partners with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) but compete for influence as campaigning gathers momentum.