Chirag, Paras hold rival functions to mark LJP foundation day

Rival functions were held on Tuesday in Bihar to mark the foundation day of the Lok Janshakti party founded by late Ram Vilas Paswan which his son Chirag had headed until a split engineered by younger brother Pashupati Kumar Paras.

While Chirag organised the function at the huge Bapu Sabhagar auditorium in the state capital, his uncle Paras, who is also a Union minister, did the same in his Lok Sabha constituency Hajipur which the late Paswan had nurtured during his lifetime.

Chirag, who had been left isolated when all the remaining five LJP MPs rallied behind his uncle when the party split in 2021, received a shot in the arm as one of the parliamentarians turned up at his function here.

Veena Devi, who represents the Vaishali Lok Sabha seat adjoining Hajipur, told reporters, ''I have always been a committed LJP worker. When the split took place I was called from Delhi and made to sign on a paper pledging support to Paras. I did so without realising what was going on.'' In Hajipur, journalists posed the question about Veena Devi to Suraj Bhan Singh, a gangster-turned-politician whose younger brother Chandan is the MP from Nawada and who is believed to have played a key role in helping Paras pull out a coup against his nephew barely a few months after Paswan's death.

''Who knows when the uncle and the nephew would themselves come together,'' said Suraj Bhan Singh, and, when asked whether he was in favour of such a rapprochement, replied cryptically, ''I am always with Lok Janshakti Party.'' Notably, the LJP was floated in 2000 when Paswan broke away with Janata Dal (United), then headed by late socialist leader Sharad Yadav. The split in 2021 culminated in the party's symbol being frozen by the Election Commission, which, however, recognized the factions headed by Chirag and Paras as separate parties.

Earlier, Paras, who was armed with the support of all LJP MPs, had succeeded in replacing Chirag as the leader of the parliamentary party by making a representation before the Lok Sabha speaker.

While the faction headed by Paras has come to be known as Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party, the one controlled by Chirag is called Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).

Interestingly, both swear by their loyalty towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA though neither agrees to the BJP's suggestion that they sink their differences and come together.

The decision of Paras to hold the function at Hajipur is seen as an attempt to assert his claim on the seat that Chirag wants for his mother Reena.

The Union minister also dropped hints to the effect when he told the gathering, ''I was asked to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by my late brother. I did not want to do so since I was already a minister in the Bihar government. But the late leader told me that he trusted me more than his wife and his son.'' Speculations had been rife that Chirag would himself like to contest from Hajipur in a bid to position himself as the ''real heir'' to his late father. However, the young leader has made it clear that he would not give up on Jamui, which he is representing for the second consecutive term.

Although Paras enjoyed the support of a majority of LJP MPs, Chirag by virtue of his pedigree and charisma has been more popular among the masses.

Slogans raised at Bapu Sabhagar included 'Bihar First, Bihari First', a campaign Chirag had launched ahead of the 2020 assembly polls when he revolted against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, then in the NDA, causing the JD(U)'s tally to plummet.

Another slogan said ''We want Chirag as the next CM of Bihar'', in an indication that supporters hoped the son to achieve something that the legendary father could not accomplish himself.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)