India, Oct. 7 -- Union minister Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), a constituent of the NDA, is weighing the option of contesting the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections independently as it seeks to expand beyond Bihar and establish itself in the country's most populous state.

The party's plans are expected to gain momentum on October 8, the death anniversary of its founder and Chirag's father, Ram Vilas Paswan, a prominent Dalit leader and former Union minister. This year, the party has shifted the event from Bihar to Lucknow, signalling its growing interest in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the assembly polls.

Although the party marked Paswan's first death anniversary in Delhi in 2021, this will be its first large-scale observ...