Ram Vilas Paswan’s son has to win his spurs the hard way
PRAVASISAMWAD.COM
Round 2 of the face-off between eminent Dalit leader late Ram Vilas Paswan’s son and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has gone in favour of the latter, but the political drama in this eastern Indian state seems poised to intensify. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s decision to give Chirag the cold shoulder by inducting his uncle-turned-bete noire Pashupati Kumar Paras into the Union cabinet on Wednesday has added fuel to the fire.
Early last month, five of the six LJP MPs had revolted against Chirag, himself an MP, removed him as the party president and parliamentary party leader and replaced him with his uncle Paras. The latter is a Lok Sabha member from the Hajipur seat, which his elder brother had represented six times. Paswan Senior had anointed Chirag as his political successor by passing on the baton as the party president and parliamentary party leader during his lifetime.
However, soon after his dad’s death in October last year, shortly before Bihar legislative assembly election, Chirag took a political line that baffled many. While proclaiming his loyalty to PM Modi and saying that he was part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, he decided to stoutly oppose Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and his party Janata Dal (U). He put up LJP candidates against almost all JD(U) candidates, while taking care not to oppose the BJP candidates. Though the LJP could win only one seat, the damage was done, with JD(U) emerging as a much-weakened party. Clearly, Round 1 had gone to Chirag.
Early last month, five of the six LJP MPs had revolted against Chirag, himself an MP, removed him as the party president and parliamentary party leader and replaced him with his uncle Paras. The latter is a Lok Sabha member from Hajipur seat which his elder brother had represented six times. Paswan Senior had anointed Chirag as his political successor by passing on the baton as the party president and parliamentary party leader during his lifetime
As LJP split last month, allegedly with JD(U) and Nitish’s instigation, Chirag nursed the hope that PM Modi and his party BJP will come to his aid. Last year, he had kept on describing himself as ‘Hanuman’ of PM Modi. This time, he remarked, “Hanuman maraa ja raha ho aur Ram chup rahe, yeh achha nahin hai.”
But Modi remained silent over the split. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla took no time in recognising Paras as the LJP parliamentary party leader. The last straw was when Paras was inducted as a minister of cabinet rank in Modi’s council of ministers. Grapevine has it that this was done at JD(U) behest, with the party giving up its claim for a second ministerial berth in Paras’ favour!
Which way Chirag now?
Where does Chirag go from here? On July 5, the first birth anniversary of Ram Vilas Paswan after his demise, Chirag set out on an “Ashirvad Yatra”(journey to seek blessings) to claim Paswan Senior’s legacy. During the yatra, he will visit all the Lok Sabha constituencies represented by LJP. Paswan Senior commanded the unwavering loyalty of the Paswan community, who constitute six per cent of the state’s electorate. Paswan Junior will have to win the trust of not only Paswans but other sections of society as well.
While Paswans’ percentage will not give Chirag the numbers to see his candidates through in an election, this has the potential to tilt the scales against Nitish Kumar and the alliance helmed by him in Bihar.
Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the principle opposition party, the RJD, has extended an olive branch to Chirag.The grapevine has it that the RJD would offer him the position of deputy chief minister for 2025 assembly poll. RJD is widely seen to have the solid backing of Muslims and Yadavs, which combined with the Paswan votes could give the RJD-led Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) the winning edge. If the two join hands now, they can hit the streets in a more forceful manner to protest against the Nitish Govt’s alleged failures. And, make the going tough for his government.
Chirag is young and has a long future. On the other hand, Paras, 68 – seven-term MLA and one term MLC – has always been under the shadow of elder brother Ram Vilas Paswan and may not find it easy to successfully claim his legacy. But the 2024 Lok Sabha poll and 2025 Bihar assembly poll are quite some way off. Cold shouldered by Modi, Chirag; it seems, has to win his spurs the hard way.