Patna: Asserting that he has a “personal bond” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan has told ThePrint in an interaction that he agreed to ally with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the “greater cause” of giving Modi a third term in office.
Paswan, who heads one faction of his late father Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) — with the other being headed by his uncle Pashupati Paras — last July rejoined the BJP-led NDA, of which Nitish’s JD(U) is also a part.
Speaking about why he returned to the NDA fold, Paswan said: “As a student of politics, I have learned that your alliance and your party should overtake your individual likes and dislikes. Nitishji and I have come together for a greater cause. The cause is giving PM Modi a resounding third term and for that, all allies of the NDA should be tight and hand-in-glove to win the 40 (Lok Sabha) seats in Bihar.”
He, however, added that certain issues remain between him and Nitish.
The united LJP had contested the 2020 Bihar assembly election alone, virtually walking out of the NDA in Bihar ahead of the state polls, saying it would not fight the election under Nitish’s leadership of the ruling alliance in the state.
While he had declared himself as “Modi’s Hanuman”, Paswan had then fielded candidates against the JD(U), and was instrumental in bringing the latter’s tally down from 71 seats to 43 seats in the 243-member assembly.
The LJP split in 2021 and Nitish was said to have been instrumental in splitting the party and installing Paras — who led a breakaway group of five party MPs — in the Modi cabinet.
The BJP, in power at the Centre, is said to have also played a role in the bitter split of the party. In Parliament, Paras’ faction with five MPs was recognised as the original party. The Centre subsequently also issued an eviction order to Ram Vilas Paswan’s family residing in the government bungalow allotted to him in Delhi.
Yet Paswan has chosen to partner with the NDA despite being offered, according to RJD spokesperson Bhai Virendra, “eight Lok Sabha seats for allying with the opposition INDIA bloc”.
“My most difficult days were not when my party split. It was when my father lay in hospital dying. At that time (in October 2020), PM Modi used to call me twice a day and used to talk to doctors for his latest medical update. He was a pillar for me at that time. I have a personal bond with PM Modi. Therefore, I do not think my ‘Bihari first’ plan will be possible under any other alliance,” Paswan told ThePrint.
Asked where he sees himself after 10 years, he said: “Ten years down the line, I would like to see myself implementing the ‘Bihari first’ scheme. PM Modi has set the deadline of 2047 for India to emerge as a developed state. All states including Bihar must contribute to the cause. Bihar must enter the path of development.”
He added that Bihar was “lucky to have a double engine government” as “usually the state and central governments are hostile to each other”.
Paswal further said that he does not know what will happen to Nitish after the Lok Sabha polls. “At the moment, I am 100 percent engaged in giving NDA the 40 Lok Sabha seats of Bihar,” he asserted.
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‘I have moved on’
After turning into a political pariah after 2021, Paswan started working on the ground and addressed a number of rallies across Bihar. He not only emerged as a crowd-puller but proved that it was he who had inherited his father’s legacy — and not his uncle — as a leader of the Paswans, a Dalit group.
The Paswans are estimated to constitute 5.5 percent of the state’s population whereas the entire Dalit community makes up around 16 percent.
Asked if he wanted to expand his base, Paswan said he was a leader of the 21st century. “I would like to be the leader of the biggest chunk of voters — the youth which constitute 61 percent of the population. I do not want to be identified with any caste or community. I did not give a ticket to Shambhavi Choudhary from Samastipur because she belongs to a Mahadalit section of Dalits. I gave her a ticket because she is highly qualified and articulate. I want her to represent the youth of Bihar in Parliament.”
In the aftermath of seat-sharing arrangements with the NDA, Paras’ Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party has been left ticketless. Yet, Paswan remains bitter with his uncle, and cousin who sided with him.
When asked about a reconciliation with Paras, Paswan replied: “I don’t know.”
“They were the ones who threw me out of the family and party. I have heard that my uncle has said that the sun may rise from the west instead of east but there is no chance of reconciling with me. I was particularly pained by their remarks about my mother. My cousin (Prince Raj) referred to her as Reena Sharma Paswan. My mother belongs to a Sikh family who never use Sharma as their title. I was in pain but the women members of the family were in more pain,” he said.
Asserting that he does not have time to think about reconciliation, Paswan said: “I have moved on.”
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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