With the BJP bringing Lok Jan Shakti Party (Ram Vilas) and its leader Chirag Paswan to the NDA fold, rival faction leader and Paswan's uncle Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras announced his resignation on Tuesday.
RLJP President Pashupati Kumar Paras told presspersons on Tuesday, "Yesterday, the NDA alliance announced the list of 40 candidates for Lok Sabha polls in Bihar. Our party had five MPs and I worked with utmost sincerity. Injustice has been done to us and our party. Therefore, I resign from the post of Union Minister," ANI reported.
The Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP) split in Bihar following its founder Ram Vilas Paswan’s death in 2021. Paras, the younger brother of Ram Vilas Paswan, took five of the MPs with him barring Paswan’s son Chirag, who was forced to form his party.
However, the BJP-led NDA, given Chirag's age and his aggressive campaigning in the state, pitched him as a long-term player in Bihar politics. The NDA allocated five Lok Sabha seats for LJP (Ram Vilas) in Bihar sensing Chirag Paswan's ability to draw big crowds at his rallies in Bihar. Through the move, the BJP underscored that it is he and not his uncle who is the political heir of the late Dalit stalwart Ram Vilas Paswan.
Meanwhile, a disappointed Paras held a meeting with senior leaders of the party at his official residence in New Delhi where a decision was reached to snap ties with the NDA. "Our party has not been given proper respect while striking a seat-sharing deal within the NDA constituents. Now we are free to take any decision and contest elections independently," a party leader was quoted by The New Indian Express.
Apart from Paras, MPs Prince Raj (Samastipur), Chandan Singh (Nawada), and former MP Surajbhan Singh were present at Monday’s meeting.
There are also talks of entering into a pre-poll alliance with the Opposition grand alliance in Bihar. As per reports, Paras reiterated his intention to fight from the Hajipur seat, which has been allotted to Chirag Paswan’s LJP(R).
The Chirag Paswan camp broke out in celebration after the seats were allocated. Jubilant party workers smeared his face with dry colour as the BJP ignored the claims of a rival faction led by Paras.
Paswan thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders while crediting the struggle of his party's workers, saying their hard work has been rewarded. He told reporters that he was mocked as his faction had only one MP with him and no MLA but his supporters thronged his rallies and kept their faith in him.
His late father Ram Vilas Paswan would often say that time, not people, is strong, the Jamui MP said, adding that he will contest from Hajipur, currently represented by his estranged uncle Paras.
Asked if there was any chance of reconciliation between him and his uncle, who had walked away with five of the six Lok Sabha MPs of the undivided Lok Janshakti Party, he said it was for the senior members of the family to decide.
He noted that Paras, a younger brother of his father, is the senior member of his family.
(With PTI inputs)
