Patna: Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, said here on Thursday that the NDA in Bihar is unlikely to make LJP(RV) president Chirag Paswan its chief ministerial face for the 2025 assembly elections due this year. He, in the same vein, also advised Chirag to remain in national politics for some more time.“The NDA will not make LJP(RV) chief Chirag Paswan its CM face in the coming Bihar assembly polls. He is a Union minister and is also doing a good job, and accordingly, should stay in Delhi for some more time,” Athawale said.“Chirag would get some assembly seats for his party, and his party would win some of them,” Athawale said.Chirag has indicated that to build and strengthen his party’s stakes in the state politics, he could even contest the coming assembly polls.However, Athawale had a different view. “Chirag’s father Ram Vilas Paswan was my good friend. Earlier, Ram Vilas used to take decisions, now Chirag is doing it. He (Chirag) should stay away from state politics, and let his party contest the elections (as an NDA partner),” he said.Athawale, who heads a faction of the Maharashtra-based Republican Party of India (RPI), was on a day-long tour of the state. He said his party would not contest any seat in Bihar in the coming assembly elections, but would come to campaign for the NDA.He criticised the Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge for raising questions on Operation Sindoor. “To prevent anyone from exercising his or her freedom of speech is against the Constitution, but some Congress netas are making statements on the Operation Sindoor which could be called unconstitutional,” Athawale said, and asked the govt to go for “direct fight” with Pakistan.Athawale also said the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A had led to an increase in tourist flow in Kashmir. “The Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, in which 26 civilians were killed, was meant to stop the tourist inflow into Kashmir,” he said.